AAC Meeting - May 15, 2020

Meeting: 

Friday, May 15, 2020 - 9:30am to 2:30pm

Coffee and Conversation: 

9:15 a.m.

Location: 

Online

Agenda: 

1. Call to Order and Roll Call/Introductions

a. Please say your name when your library is called so we can mark attendance and test sound.

2. AAC Ground Rules & online meeting etiquette

3. Approve the minutes of the January 17th, 2020 and April 22, 2020 AAC Meetings

4. Announcements

5. Staff Report

6. CARL library staff training plan

We plan to contract with TLC to provide initial general circulation training to key member library staff. We propose holding training at 3 locations across the system in August. Each training will be limited to 12 participants. Each library should send one representative (one representative from each consolidated county) to one of the trainings. That person will go back to train the rest of the staff. This training would last an entire day and cover the web-based interface “CARL Connect Staff.” Specific topics will include Circulation, Items, and Discovery. OWLS will provide additional training for staff who perform specialized functions.

  1. Will you be able to send a person for a full day of training the first week of August?
  2. Who has space near an OWLSnet wifi access point that is large enough to accommodate 12 students, 1 OWLS staff member, and 1 or 2 TLC trainers?

7. Restarting Patron-initiated Holds

Recommendation: OWLS does not recommend allowing patrons to place holds on InfoSoup until several criteria are met:

  1. The IMLS-initiated study with Batelle Labs and OCLC evaluating the life span of the virus on library resources is completed and indicates that resource sharing can be managed safely.
  2. OWLS and NFLS can provide delivery at least three days per week while quarantining materials for the recommended time and maintaining safety for sorting staff.
  3. Library staff can run pick lists and pull holds on all days when the library is open or providing curbside while maintaining safe distancing in the library.
  4. Wisconsin enters Phase One of the Badger Bounce Back Plan.

Other considerations: We cannot turn the Request It button on for some libraries but not others. Large libraries elsewhere in the state have reported difficulty managing holds volumes while providing curbside. We might consider decreasing the maximum number of holds patrons may place. Many avenues have been explored with the other 5 library systems using Sierra in Wisconsin, including changing paging priorities, initiating item-level holds, and creating an SQL query to identify local holds, but none of them have had great outcomes for improving curbside service. We’ve done everything we can think of so far to make the system work under these circumstances.

OWLS can provide the Local Holds Reports to libraries 2-3 times per week.

  1. Can your staff safely pick from paging lists most days?
  2. What additional criteria are libraries considering that indicate your readiness to safely resume resource sharing?

8. Restarting Notices (Email and Shoutbomb)

Recommendation: Similar to holds, email and SMS pickup notices rely on resource sharing and delivery. We don't recommend enabling email or SMS hold pickup notices until at least Phase One, but possibly Phase Two of the Badger Bounce Back Plan, when patrons can walk in and grab their holds without scheduling pick up times and libraries can safely and quickly accommodate patrons picking up holds.

Further, we recommend not emailing overdue notices until all libraries are accepting returns and due dates are no longer being extended globally.

  1. What do you need to do at your libraries to make these changes possible?
  2. Do you think your libraries can accommodate everyone coming in to pick up holds without scheduling times while still complying with physical distancing requirements?

Decisions

9. Lift the $5 fine restriction to OverDrive permanently

10. Recommend OWLSnet Fees for 2021