HEARTLAND LIBRARY COOPERATIVE BOARD MEETING

January 15, 1997

HLC Governing Board members present: Vice-Chairman Bonnie Dyga, Okeechobee Co. ; Walter B. Olliff, Jr., Hardee Co.; Charles Evans, DeSoto Co.; Clois J. Harvey, Okeechobee Co.; Marilyn Buxton, Okeechobee Co.; Paul Erickson, DeSoto Co.; Gloria Davis, Hardee Co.; Perry Newport, Highlands Co.

Board members absent: Jeri Canale, Highlands Co.; Barbara Smith, DeSoto Co.; Jeanne Renton, Highlands Co.; Diana Youmans, Hardee Co.

Other Attendees; Mary Myers, Cooperative Coordinator; Merry Cresswell, L.P. Librarian, Elizabeth Kenney, DeSoto Librarian,; Ed Kilroy, Okeechobee Librarian; Don Obrakta, Hardee Librarian; Marcellus Mason, Network Services Manager; Carolyn Hesselink, Admin. Secretary.

Vice-Chairman Bonnie Dyga called the meeting to order at 10:01 a.m. Public notice was read. There were no additions to the agenda. Agenda was approved as read. Minutes of the November 13 meeting were moved for accepted and approved.

The chair welcomed new board member Charles Evans from DeSoto County, replacing Sharon Turner. The Cooperative Coordinator report follows:

1. Project HALIN (Heartland Automated Library Information Network) has been divided into three bid areas: 97-2 Network Cabling and Interface Connections, 97-3 Network Hubs/Concentrators, and 97-4 PC Workstations. Cooperative Coordinator Mary Myers announced that the bids were advertised in the Tampa Tribune and the Palm Beach Post, and put on the Internet, by Marcellus Mason. There have been many requests for copies of the various parts of the HALIN project. The pre-bid conference is Jan. 21, the bid opening is 2 p.m., Feb. 14.

2. Home Pages - Mrs Myers informed the governing board that our Network Services Manager, Marcellus, will do home pages for all interested counties. Mary Mention that she gets e-mail frequently from our home pages browsers, and ours includes our constitutional officers and their duties, including pictures of each one. Marcellus asked that they think of what they would like and funnel that information to their library directors. He would prefer it on a floppy disk. He can work with Word or text on ASCII. Our government address is: snoopy.tblc.lib.fl.is/hcpl/hchp/

3. Loan to Cooperative - Coordinator Myers expects to pay off he loan from Highlands County with money coming in from both the grant from the State of Florida and State Aid, within the next month.

4. Library Day, March 19 - Mary recommends as many as possible travel to Tallahassee to add our weight to that of other boards and Friends groups. We have two grant applications under consideration: Okeechobee for new construction, and Sebring for renovation. Perry Newport said he was interested in attending. Okeechobee said they hope to send a delegation, too.

5. Cooperative Publicity - Several article on the Cooperative has been published in the Tampa Tribune, News-Sun, and Senior Scene magazine since our formation, he latest item on January 13.

It was moved to accept the Coordinator's report; seconded, and carried.

6. Monthly Financial Report - This month the report was from the Coordinator. If this form is satisfactory, the report will be printed this way each month. A question was asked concerning the lack of data on payment of salaries. Mary does not have that information. It is assumed that Charlie Lairsey in the Finance Department, Clerk of Courts, will include an accounting of salaries paid out in his first financial statement at the next board meeting.

7. Tampa Bay Library Consortium (TBLC) Benefits - Perry Newport queried what the $800 enhanced membership fee paid for. Coordinator Myers said the institutional members pays for: workshops, FIRN and Internet access, professional consultations, and the Union List of Serials.

8. Community College Library Access - Mary informed the board that, although the community college library are not accessible through OCLC, their records are available through the Internet on LINCC, using the State Library's home page.

9. Automation - The library directors have been meeting monthly to work out the data they want available through the Gaylord Galaxy System.

10. DeSoto's New Library - Paul Erickson talked briefly about the problems and potential gains involved in their move in February. They expect much more positive results from cooperative membership once the move is made. Elizabeth Kenney invited the HLC board to meet at their new library in March (barring any major moving schedule glitches).

11. Next Meeting Date is set for Wednesday, February 26, 10 a.m., Lake Placid Memorial Library meeting room.

Meeting was adjourned at 10:45 a.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Carolyn L. Hesselink

Administrative Secretary