Recorded by: Will Reed
NLS Staff Present:
Richard Smith, Chief, Network Division
Steve Prine, Assistant Chief, Network Division
Vickie Collins, Head, Network Services Section
Network Chairs:
Will Reed, Midlands Conference
Kim Charlson, Northern Conference
Sue Hammer-Schneider, Western Conference (for Susan Westin)
Pat Herndon, Southern Conference (for Shellie Zeigler)
From NLS:
NLS brought up for discussion a request for Chairs to wait until after the national telephone forum to distribute minutes from the Conference Chairs meeting. NLS expressed their concern that answering and distributing responses from the Conference Chairs meeting prior to the national telephone forum may discourage or limit the number questions asked or participation on the call. NLS will draw from the discussion topics from the Chairs meeting to encourage participation from the network in their reminder about the national telephone forum. NLS will answer the questions from the Chair meeting during the national telephone forum. Chairs will then distribute the Conference Chair minutes including NLS responses following the national forum.
Conference Chair Questions and Discussion Points:
Midlands: Thank you to NLS for their work and responding to patron requests to make the BARD Mobile app for Android available on Kindle Fire devices.
NLS Response: NLS did not respond to this comment during the telephone forum.
Midlands: During the July conference chairs meeting, a request was made to NLS to provide new conference chairs with a roster of NLS committee assignments. Can NLS provide an update on the progress of this roster?
NLS Response: NLS did not respond to this question during the telephone forum.
Midlands: During the August conference chairs meeting, requests were made to NLS for an update on the progress of digitizing the foreign language collection, a breakdown by language of the foreign language titles that have been retro-converted and are still pending, as well as any progress in adding new foreign language DTB titles. Also during the national conference call, NLS was asked whether they would consider adding more Chinese and Korean foreign language titles. Can NLS provide an update on any progress with these requests?
NLS Response: NLS experienced some delays in production. NLS has been posting foreign language titles in drifts, such as some Hindi and Russian language titles. NLS and Multi-state are working on retro-conversions that should help streamline the process. The quality of foreign language cassette recordings varied. NLS is making progress though it’s taking longer than they wish. NLS is working with San Francisco public library to add Chinese language titles. Any further questions or progress report inquiries can be made to David Fernández-Barrial.
Midlands: Does NLS have an update on when the September national teleconference meeting recording will be posted and made available?
NLS Response: NLS is concerned that the limited number of questions being posed during the national [teleconference] may be related to the meeting recordings being posted, and members are shying away from asking questions. NLS is requesting feedback from conferences and chairs.
Midlands: Since 2013, regional libraries have been unable to access end-of-the-year direct magazine circulation statistics entered by NLS in the Network Database. Can NLS provide regionals with access to end-of-the-year direct magazine circulation statistics?
NLS Response: They are available in PICS. Go to Selected Reports and Documents, Network Documents, then Network Statistics link. FY2014 magazine readership and circulation statistics are available but not FY2013.
Midlands: There appears to be a growing trend of requests to regional libraries from non-NLS partnered, third party organizations requesting certification of disability for patrons wishing to receive membership, products and services from these organizations. Through conversations on the list-serv, some libraries will provide these organizations with certification only if they are given expressed permission from the patron. Does NLS have a provision or position on regional libraries certifying disability on behalf of patrons for these types of organizations and services? Are regional libraries under any obligation to provide certification even if the patron has given their permission?
NLS Response: Refer to Section 3.4 of the Network Library Manual.
Western: When can we expect the mailing containers and the balance of the peach cartridges?
NLS Response: Assuming samples are OK, they should be shipped in November.