Board Minutes

Meeting No. 1
April 23, 1998
Nashville, TN

Present: Yildiz Binkley, Rosa Burnett, Sheila Delacroix, Paula Kaufman, Sue Loper, Les Pourciau, Winston Walden

1. Election of Chair
Paula Kaufman was elected chair for a one-year term.

2. Projects
The board identified a number of programs to be undertaken immediately.

• Statewide access to databases
  Sue Loper updated the board about TennShare's activities. At a meeting scheduled for April 29, directors of key library agencies will hear updates from a number of state library and non-library operations (e.g., Department of Education, State Library and Archives, THEC, Office of Information Resources), following which leaders will discuss establishing a high-level advocacy group and developing a set of strategies for attaining state financial support for statewide access to databases. The board endorsed these activities and pledged to assist in whatever ways are possible.

  Paula Kaufman reported that her University is arranging for her to visit with R. Rhoda, THEC interim director, to discuss THEC's possible role in funding statewide access to databases, particularly within Tennessee's public higher education institutions. The Board endorsed this strategy, noting that it does not want to work at cross-purposes with the TennShare efforts but that it must try as many strategies for attaining state support for offering resources to its constituencies as possible.

• TBR/UTK access to databases
  The Board endorsed a project to identify commonly held resources - primarily electronic resources and microforms - and to attempt to negotiate more favorable group prices with vendors. Annelle Huggins, University of Memphis, will be leading the project. < b>TBR and UT directors who wish their libraries to participate should send Annelle (ahuggins@memphis.edu) the name of a contact person/project participant as soon as possible. The group is to report on its progress by July 15.

• Universal borrowing cards
  As outlined in the original TALC proposal, the group endorsed a project to develop and implement a universal borrowers card system. Deborah Thomas, (thomasd@aztec.lib.utk.edu) University of Tennessee, Knoxville, will be leading the project. TBR and UT directors should send Deb (thomasd@aztec.lib.utk.edu)the name a contact person/project participant as soon as possible. The group is to report on its progress by July 15 and to aim to have a system in place by the start of the Fall 1998 semester.

• Workshops. seminars, staff development
  The board endorsed a proposal to offer seminars and workshops to TBR and UT library staff. Rosa Burnett, (rburnett@stim.tec.tn.us) State Technical Institute of Memphis, will lead the project. She will explore the possibility of offering a Solinet-provided workshops in marketing or preservation in each of the state's three divisions by the end of the fiscal year. Staff from non-members will be welcome but will be assessed additional fees to attend.

• Binding
  Winston Walden(wawl949@tntech.edu) will be investigating the possibilities of a statewide binding agreement in which each library could have its own contract. If it appears to be feasible he'll be calling for assist ance from TBR and UT library directors.

• Common gateway to OPACs
  A future project will undertake to study the requirements for implementing a common gateway to all TBR and UT OPACs.

• Stationery, logo and public relations
  UTK staff will design a logo and print TALC stationery and will take responsibility for publicizing TALC efforts.

3. Governance Issues
The UTK libraries will serve as TALC's business office. At present, the Board sees no need for significant financial resources and thus has deferred developing a plan to receive funds from TALC members. Each TALC member, however, is expected to fund staff travel and expenses related to ongoing and project activities.

The TBR Academic Subcouncil will be asked to endorse TALC and to pass it to TBR presidents for approval. Paula Kaufman will ask the appropriate UT administrator to undertake similar action at UT if it is necessary. At this time the Board does not think th at further action will be necessary to enable TALC to operate and carry out its projects as planned.

4. Next Meeting
July 24, 10:30 am, TSU campus