Spring 2003 Meeting Minutes

DIGOR Spring Meeting

Thursday, April 24, 2003

Oregon Library Association Annual Conference, Corvallis

The meeting was called to order at 5:05 p.m. In attendance were Susan Westin, Judy Andrews, Laura Ayling, Diana Gleason, Deb Hollins, Valery King, Ted Smith, Alex Toth, Jey Wann.

Reports

DIGOR – Chair Susan Westin reported that we have about $676 in funds available, and only $15 in committed expenses for tomorrow’s Census presentation. Our membership as of April 1 is 28.

OrDocs – Jey Wann reported on the current situation with the OrDocs program. Beginning after the upcoming shipping list, the format of the shipping lists will change due to the lists being generated by the “create lists” function of the State Library’s integrated library system. Full MARC records created by the State Library are now available to depositories via the FTP site. Depository libraries should contact Kyle Bannerjee for help in setting up their profile to download the appropriate records.

The state printer is required to provide pdf files of all publications, including those published as web-only documents. These are available through the FTP site.

For significant web-only documents, the State Library is putting brief bibliographic records into their OPAC. They are not doing full cataloging. At the suggestion of the group, the OrDocs program will consider adding informational notices to the shipping lists to notify depositories as to the existence of these online documents.

Federal Depository Conference – Judy Andrews, Valery King, and Susan Westin attended the Spring 2003 Federal Depository Conference in Reno, NV on April 6-9. The theme of the meeting was “envisioning the future of the Federal Depository Library Program.” The participants reported that Bruce James, the new Public Printer, attended and left a favorable impression as to his candor and willingness to listen, though the group was more cautious regarding his degree of understanding of depository libraries and the general direction he intends to lead the program. The Public Printer’s goal is to have a depository program that is 90-95% online access, with only a few items to still be distributed in print. Toward that end, he outlined a three step process:

• Fact-finding (2003)
• Planning within GPO (about six months in early 2004)
• Go to Congress with proposed amendments to Title 44 (when ready)

Librarians at the conference continued to raise concerns about the authenticity and preservation of online documents, and mentioned that GPO needs to provide some value-added to the program as an incentive for libraries to continue their involvement as depositories. Emphasis was on viewing the libraries as partners in the government’s information dissemination programs rather than as customers. Value-added could be in the form of more extensive training available on the regional level.

GPO is now an affiliate of NARA. The hope is that this affiliation will encourage agencies to comply with the requirements of the depository program. GPO will soon be getting a new integrated library system, which may allow for more specific item profiling.

The participants noted that the depository conference in general was characterized by a lot of energy, with less despair over the future of the depository library program than at other recent conferences.

Regional Depository – Judy Andrews reported that she is offering to have Oregon be a pilot site for a new regional “consultant” who would offer GPO training to depository libraries in the state. The consultant would likely be based at either Portland State University or the University of Idaho.

New Business

A call was made for nominations for the elected positions of vice-chair/chair/elect and secretary. Valery King volunteered for the vice-chair position and Ted Smith for secretary. They were elected by acclamation.

As the State Library does not have sufficient funding to hold the OrDocs agency conference, the possibility of having a meeting jointly sponsored by DIGOR and the State Library was discussed. The group supported the idea. Jey and Susan will work on arranging it.

A proposal was made that DIGOR have a table at the exhibit hall for next year’s OLA meeting in Eugene. The table could feature notable Oregon documents, and would serve to heighten awareness of DIGOR within the Association. We will try to do this if staffing can be arranged.

Ted Smith mentioned that the group’s web site has not been revamped for a number of years, and is badly in need of refreshing. He offered to work on a site-redesign this summer, and the group endorsed the proposal. Alex Toth offered to assist with the project; his assistance was gratefully accepted.

The group will plan to meet in the fall, at a place and date to be determined. The new officers board will meet via e-mail to arrange a meeting. Members should e-mail incoming Chair Alex Toth (tothalex@pacificu.edu) with program ideas and suggestions for a meeting place and time.

The meeting was adjourned at 6:00 p.m.

Submitted by Ted Smith for the DIGOR Secretary