Gay-Kimball Library

Emergency Trustees Meeting

February 20, 2010 3:00PM

Members Present: Beth Richardson, Kathy Marrotte, Evan John; Catherine Callegari, Librarian

The Trustees requested  an emergency meeting to discuss the library’s automation system’s deletion of 20,000 records sometime between closing on Saturday February 13, and reopening on February 16.

The vendor InfoCentre owned by Follett is unable adequately explain what happened to the records nor restore them.  The best they can offer is a database of our records from 2006.  Luckily the missing records do not include items currently checked out, but they do include the rest of the library’s inventory of materials available for circulation.  Unfortunately, the backup file folder being used was moved and renamed by the vendor in 2006, and since that time, records were not being properly backed up.  Catherine will work with David Harris from the NH state library system to recover 80% of the titles, but the bar codes and call numbers will still have to be manually reentered into the system.

Catherine strongly believes, and the trustees concur, that the library should find another automation vendor.  After giving pricing information on four companies, she recommended ByWater Solutions, a Connecticut firm which gave a sales presentation at the Fitzwilliam Library last week. Fitzwilliam, Marlborough and Jaffrey are also considering the package, and a consortium of the 4 libraries will give a significant cost savings which brings this company’s package cost in line with those from the 3 other vendors.

This system uses open source software, a triple backup system and includes a hosting service.  Because of the open source internet-based software, the library will have access to its records if the company ever closes or chooses to change vendors.  The ByWater system would go live at the end of June and the Library would continue to use Infocentre until then. If there is a problem forming the consortium the program Apollo by Biblionix is Plan B. 

The total cost for the GKL in 2010 to go live with ByWater is $5,450.  Our Expendable Trust contains roughly $4600.00 and this purchase fall within its parameters.  The 3 trustees voted to proceed with the ByWater option and to use $4000 from the Expendable Trust for that purpose. 

We hope to be on the agenda for the 2/22 Selectboard meeting to apprise the Selectboard of the Library Board of Trustees decision and to request their approval per the wording of the Expendable Trust. 

Addendum:

The Library Board of Trustees met with the Town of Troy Selectboard regarding this matter at 7pm on 2/22/2010.  The Select board voted in favor of using $4000 of the Expendable Trust for the purpose requested by the Library Board of Trustees.  

Submitted by Evan John 2/23/10