USMAI Executive Council
Minutes of the meeting on May 17, 2007
UMBC Kuhn Library

Attendance: Barbara Gontrum (presiding), Larry Wilt, Charles Lowry, Kim Kelley, Celia Rabinowitz, Donald Spicer, Carlen Ruschoff, Lulu Barnachea (note-taking).

1. ITD staffing update
   
   Carlen gave an update on the ITD staffing. A new systems librarian, Hongyan Sun, was hired. Jamie Bush is expected to be back part-time in mid-June. Special projects will be assigned to him to maximize his input to the group. Filling other open positions (i.e. in systems administration, web services leadership) may be delayed due to USM budget restrictions.
   
   Celia raised the issue of RXs regarding specific functionalities (not new functionalities) that are not being submitted but need to be attended to. These are functionalities that campuses want to implement in the fall. Suggestions: a) ask the COIs to submit these RXs with a different subject line; b) that Carlen visit campuses to determine their needs.
   
   Action: Carlen will discuss these ideas with the Aleph Team and determine what can be done.
   
   
2. Aleph V. 18 status
   
   Carlen gave a status report on Aleph V. 18 testing. Overall, testing is on-going and that there are very few RXs received. Celia mentioned that the biggest issue concerns PDQ. A report was sent to ExLibris with request for their response by May 15th. There was no response as of to-date. Since PDQ is not an option for the immediate future, the testing group began to work on PPH. Four problems have been discovered and sent to ExLibris to be addressed.
   
   Action: Carlen will discuss these issues with Carmit (ExLibris). June 15 is the deadline to decide whether to migrate or not to V. 18.
   
   
3. Follow-up to CLD budget discussion
   
   Carlen presented an FY08 budget projection.
   
   Action: Carlen was asked to make a 5-year projection of the Central Site budget and to review the use of the contingency fund. Suggestions include: a) looking back at how the contingency fund was used in the last 3 years; b) project the equipment replacement in the next 5 years.
   
   
4. Statistics Task Group
   
   Action: Approved the membership of the TG: Cynthia Coleman (BSU), Irma Dillon (UM), and Teresa Knott (HSHSL).
   
   
5. Social security numbers - what are the next steps?
   
   Issues associated with social security numbers were discussed. Donald Spicer briefly described how College Park is approaching this issue. Larry pointed out that the UMBC PeopleSoft student module is being implemented and if we make LIMS changes in the handling of SSNs that require different load parameters, UMBC needs to know what those parameters are. Conversely, if bursar loads from LIMS will look different in the future due to changes in SSN handling, we would need to notify the campuses of that. He expressed the need to have a specs sheet from ITD to provide to the PeopleSoft implementation (and for other systems at other campuses).
   
   Actions: a) Donald will contact OIT (College Park) and get information relevant to this discussion on SSN and protection of privacy. b) Carlen will get more information from other campuses about concerns/issues re SSN. c) Ask the RSTG Circ subgroup to work on this issue and submit comments to CLD 2 weeks before the July CLD meeting.
   
   
6. Process for June election
   
   Action: Celia Rabinowitz, Charles Lowry, and Barbara Gontrum will form the nominating committee.
   
   
7. New initiatives from the retreat - how best to proceed?
   
   
   1. Future generations of user interfaces
   2. Consortial digital repository
   3. Staff training and sharing knowledge
      
      
   Action: Create Task Groups of 2-3 people in August-September; have them work on task in the fall; and prepare/submit their white paper to CLD by end of December. TG memberships should not be limited to UITG; involve others to gain a broader view.
   
   Discussions: The TG on 'future generations of user interfaces' should focus on broader and more futuristic user interfaces. The TG on 'staff training' will provide information on current trends and potential new technology. It will be asked to provide a plan of orienting new staff to the concept of 'consortium'. The idea of developing a consortial digital repository will be integrated with the staff training initiative as a means to achieve knowledge sharing.
   
   
8. Draft 2007/2008 meeting schedule
   
   Meeting schedules were reviewed and accepted.
   
   The CLD retreat will be on March 9-10, 2008. Lulu will reserve these dates at Belmont Center.
   
   
9. Other business
   
   June is the last E-News issue for the summer.
   
   Carlen is meeting with some staff to discuss information sharing plan re Verde.
   
   Larry suggested forming a small group to look at Shady Grove issues and the integration of its services. Suggested membership to include one from UMUC (maybe Gloria Orr), David Gillespie, Katalin Mouyal, Desi Vikor (or his recommendee), and one from Frostburg. M.J. Tooey will be asked to either chair this group or be the liaison.
   
   

Notes prepared by: Lulu Barnachea

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