Minutes, Board of Directors

COSELL BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING

Minutes

Minneapolis, MN

July 17, 2001

Present: Mark Bernstein, Chair; Anne Klinefelter, Vice-Chair; Bill Beintema, Treasurer; Pamela Melton (2000-2002), Kris Gilliland (2001-2003), and Sally Wise (2001-2003), Members-at-Large; and Jack Bissett, Secretary.

Bill pointed out that the statement in item IX, "COSELL contributed $500.00 to SEAALL for the meeting and $100.00 for the newsletter." was written before the fact. It should read "COSELL will contribute ...."

Bill distributed a report. The balance on July 6, 2000 was $3,141.14. Dues provided income of $1,020.00; expenses totaled $807.89. As of July 12, 2001 there is $3,353.25 in the Treasury.

There are 44 paid members on this date. Two members have not yet paid their dues. A brief discussion followed, as to whether the Chair or Secretary should send welcoming and recruiting letters to new directors in the SEAALL region. Bill replied that he has always called them and welcomed them to the Southeast, and suggested COSELL membership. The group agreed that is preferable to a letter.

The Roundtable reports from the Atlanta meeting are available on the web site, Jack reported. Some small changes were suggested for the arrangement of the web page. Anne was to discuss them with Steve Melamut.

Pamela said she sees no need for a major overhaul - some revisions are warrented, especially in the area of how technology fits into COSELL's mission. The Committee needs a third member. Kris Gilliland agreed to serve and Mark said he will contact Pamela and Kris.

Bill asked for a copy of the YBP contract, which prompted the question, could the website summarize the consortium's agreements and their benefits?

An extended discussion followed. Anne: Should the directors be reminded each year about the agreements? Shouldn't their staff who use the agreements be notified as well? Kris: What kind of agreements do we seek? Mark: Are we forward thinking? Should we survey the members for desired additional benefits? Kris: Such as Net Library. Bill: Such things would certainly fit our profile. Mark: What about regional sub-COSELL agreements? Kris: KUDZU in Tennessee is a shared catalog, for example. She will try to bring some info about it to our next meeting. Pamela: How does a COSELL member get the benefits - just by joining? Answer, yes. Kris: Do we ever team up with other consortia to work out more advantageous agreements? Answer, not to date. Consensus: we need to make sure they are clearly spelled out on the website.

Mark suggested a joint reception for AALL consortia [board members? members?] at a future AALL. Questions raised: how many consortia are there in AALL? Do we know who? How much do the various contract/agreement terms differ? Who has agreements with which vendors? Sally will post a message on LawLib and check with AALL to try to find a list of consortia.

Pamela asked who negotiates on behalf of COSELL, how do we go beyond book purchasing collaborations, and do we want to?

It is uncertain whether COSELL has a representative on the SEAALL program committee for next year's meeting. Mark will contact the program chair to make sure the roundtables are on the schedule, and suggest the same times.

Mark suggested a member survey to determine if members are aware of COSELL benefits, and if they have any suggestions for additional vendors or products. Anne agreed to draft it, and asked for suggestions for inclusion. She will discuss with Steve Melamut making it available and able to be completed on the web. The aim is to send it to directors by October 1 with a due date in mid-October to early November.