Present: Tibisay Boggio-Turner, Kelly Browne, Shannon Burchard, Mark Estes, Diane Rodriguez, Kathy Skinner, Jean Willis

Note: Read into the record: Holly Lakatos’ proposed AALL program “Creating Your Own
Breadcrumb Trail: Motivating Employees in Unique Library Settings" was approved by the Board via e-mail on 8/13/09 at 2:25 pm

Diane Rodriguez, President, called the meeting to order at 2:00 p.m.

Old Business

1. Approval of Minutes
   The board approved the May 20th 2009 Board Meeting Minutes and the June 23rd 2009 Crossover Meeting Minutes.
   
   
2. Treasurer’s Report and Approval of the Proposed Budget
   Mark Estes presented the treasurer’s report and highlighted some of the noteworthy financial events including:
   • YTD membership dues are down $1500 from $11,345.00 in FY 2010 to $12,785 FY 2009.
   • The Association’s income taxes have been paid and we paid $43 in use tax for the AALL giveaways,
   • A CEB sponsorship payment is still outstanding.
   • The July income data on the Balance Sheet includes the Spring Institute sponsorship from Lexis.
   • The Association has a good deal of cash at its disposal.

   Shannon Burchard, Vice President/ President Elect/Chair of the Spring Institute Committee, requested the board review the proposed Spring Institute budget and consider increasing the amount to support a Gala celebration of the Associations 30th year. The idea of a Gala was well received. A discussion of the proposed Spring Institute budget revealed that the $20,000 requested for this year’s event is $5,000 over what was spent last year. All agreed that this additional $5,000.00 was sufficient to cover the anticipated cost of the Gala.
   
   Mark also brought several financial and accounting issues to the Board’s attention for discussion:

   1. Budgeting a proposed income in order to get a more definitive picture of the Association’s financial needs.
      • The board felt that this was a good idea. Shannon, and a few others, commented on the difficulty of anticipating sponsorships and other possible streams of income.
   2. The possibility of requiring a small fee to attend Association gatherings as a means bolstering attendance and protecting the Association from unnecessary expenses.
      • The board members supported this idea. Shannon noted that she planned on requesting a small registration fee for attending the 30th anniversary gala.
   3. The need for AALL giveaways. Do they further NOCALL’s mission? Are they worth the cost?- -The giveaways were described by Diane, Shannon, and other members of the board, as being instrumental in facilitating networking between NOCALL members and the other chapters. They were also seen as encouraging membership in NOCALL as they serve as lures to our table where people can learn about NOCALL.
   4. The cost associated with creating and distributing a print version of the membership directory
      • In response it was noted that its printing is currently paid for by the Daily Journal Corporation, and therefore it is not charged to the Association. Mark explained that the cost of printing was a concern, but that the greater issue was the cost of the postage to mail it out. A couple of members added that in the current economic climate we should consider that the free printing of the directory might not be available in the future. Diane suggested a conversation with Ramona about possible alternatives, such as making the directory available only in electronic format.
   5. The possibility of increasing grants in light of the Associations current heavy cash flow.
      • The level of cash was noted again because it was previously decided that the Association would invest more in educational opportunities and grants. Diane suggested the possibility of sponsoring a San Jose State University School of Library and Information Science scholarship for a student interested in law librarianship. Board members were asked to share any ideas on how these funds might be best utilized to serve the memberships education goals.
   6. Shannon Burchard brought it to the board’s attention that the Association’s actual administrative expenses are likely higher than indicated on the Proposed Budget. She said this because often committee chairs and members will use their employers’ facilities and supplies to do association work, such has copying and mailing invitations. These expenses are often overlooked during the budgeting process because the committee chairs or members usually do not request reimbursement for these expenditures.
      • Mark and the other board members felt that this was an important oversight to correct as it obscured the true cost of running the association. Mark was asked to propose a procedure for the tracking of non-reimbursed expenses which would work well for him. He was also asked about the possibility of making a check request form available. These mechanisms were recognized as important step to streamlining and

      A motion was made to approve the proposed budget, the motion was seconded, and approval was granted.

3. Calendar and a Review of Upcoming Events
   Diane went over the calendar and provided additional details for most of the scheduled events.
   • Fall educational workshop – November 2009
     The workshop is scheduled for Tuesday 11/10/09 at Preservation Park. The topic will be the research and marketing uses of social media in the law library. The format will be a panel discussion.
   • Holiday party – December 2009
     The Networking Committee is in the process of collecting ideas for a holiday luncheon or afternoon reception. There were some inquiries as to what Lexis and Westlaw had planned in terms of holiday celebrations. As in the past, NOCALL has forgone a larger celebration because of the Lexis/Westlaw events.
   • Jan Board/Business Meeting - January 2010
     The January meeting is scheduled to take place in the South Bay. Diane is planning to contact Laurie Flynn about a possible venue; yet she is also considering the idea of holding the meeting at San Jose State University to encourage student interest in NOCALL.
   • Sunshine Week – March 2010
     Greg Fite is working with Shannon to hold the San Francisco area Sunshine Week event the first morning of the Spring Institute.
   • Spring Institute – March 2010
     Shannon Burchard is working on finalizing her committees. She has the Whitcomb on first option hold, but she is continuing to look at other venues. She has decided to try to hold the 30th anniversary gala at a different location than the institute.
   • May Board/Business Meeting – May 2010
   • WESTPAC meeting in SF - Fall 2010
     NOCALL is still hoping to partner with WESTPAC by connecting the 2010 Fall Workshop, and perhaps other events, with this meeting. Janet Fisher is the official contact between NOCALL and WESTPAC.
     
     
4. ListServ Posting Policy/Vendor Postings
   1. The board discussed the merits of clarifying the Association’s listserv policy in consideration of recent questionable vendor postings. It was decided that the best way to clarify our listserv rules was to adopt the AALL Discussion Forum Rules & Conditions. The board decided to state our agreement with these rules and to post a link to them on the NOCALL E-Mail List page
   2. Use of listserv by non-members
      Next, the board discussed the question of allowing non-members access to the NOCALL listserv. Kelly Browne and Kathy Skinner both made comments in support of access to the listserv being a benefit of membership. The other members of the board agreed that the listserv should be a closed members only list. It was noted that there are probably several listserv members that are not part of the NOCALL membership and therefore a decision needs to be reached as to their status going forward. It was decided that current listserv members should be given a three month grace period to become NOCALL members before their access to the listserv is revoked.
      
      A motion for a closed, members only, listserv was proposed, seconded, and approved.
      
      
5. Technology Committee
   At the behest of Joan Loftus a motion was proposed to create the Technology Committee which would merge the Web Page & Listserv Committees into one entity. Jessica Corcoran would head the committee and Joan Loftus would be the member in charge of the listserv. The motion was seconded and approved.
   
   
6. Archives Task Force
   The board approved the creation of an Archives Task Force which will be Prano Amjadii and Mary Hood. Prano and Mary will assist Kate Wilko, Archives Committee Chair, with a review the items in the NOCALL archive and with the creation of guidelines and procedures as necessary for the continued maintenance of the collection.

New Business

1. Community Service Committee
   The board approved the creation of a Community Service Committee. The purpose of the committee would be to find or create opportunities for NOCALL members to become involved in community service events and other charitable works.
   
   
2. Networking Tools and Collaboration
   Diane proposed the idea of a board/committee chair wiki which would allow for more open communication and more opportunities for collaboration. The board discussed the whether such a tool a tool would actually be utilized and kept up to date and therefore worth the effort of setting up. The sentiments were mixed, with many feeling that while the idea was good, a wiki might not be the best tool. Some other ideas mentioned were: Facebook and an application similar to Google Documents. This item was tabled for further discussion at a future meeting.
   
   Diane announced that the NOCALL Facebook page was up and running. She gave thanks to Jessica Corcoran for all of her work on this project.
   
   
3. Social Events
   Cocktail events will continue in San Francisco to offer members informal networking opportunities. Diane shared that members in other areas, such as Fresno, were planning similar events.
   
   
4. Educational Program Proposals and Sponsorship Requests
   The Education Committee was given the responsibility of creating a policy and procedures for handling and prioritizing NOCALL/AALL program proposals and sponsorship requests. They are to implement these policies and procedures and be proactive about announcing proposal deadlines as well as collecting, reviewing, and making recommendations regarding any AALL program proposals seeking NOCALL sponsorship. Considering these additional duties, the board supported the idea of Teri Richards, Education Committee Chair, recruiting more committee members.
   
   
5. Awards Committee
   The duties of this committee were clarified and approved by the board The Past President chairs the awards committee and orders the plaques; the responsibility for selecting the outgoing President's gift, presentation of the plaque and gift, and coordination of awards and presenters should also reside with the Past President.
   
   
6. Membership Committee
   Membership Committee was officially given leave to sell the NOCALL membership list for $250. The board decided that a standard photo release be added to the membership application. The logistics of this addition would be discussed with Ramona Martinez.
   
   
7. Proposals
   Proposal from Carolina Rose regarding a commercial venture with Virtual Loop, the makers of an office management system. On review, the Board decides against participating.
   
   Mary Alice Baish suggested honoring Zoe Lofgren as NOCALL’s first “Legislator of the Year” for all of her hard work on behalf of libraries. The board felt this was an excellent idea. Diane noted COALL did a similar thing for a local legislator with great success.
   
   
8. Educational Events
   Shannon Burchard gave an update on the Spring Institute and the 30th Anniversary Celebration. The dates for the institute will be March 26th and 27th. The venue has not yet been selected, however the theme of this year’s institute will be Piracy. It will feature programs on topics such as: maritime law, trademarks/patents/copyright, and cyber-squatting. There was a great deal of excitement for the theme and discussion of vendor game options and other fun add-ons were discussed.
   
   WestPac 2010 Fall Conference in San Francisco was discussed as an excellent opportunity to collaborate and network with other west coast law librarians. The board briefly discussed combining the NOCALL Fall Workshop with this event.
   
   
9. Committee Cluster Reports
   Each member of the board presented their Committee Cluster Reports. Highlights include:
   • Chrissy Brown of the Public Access Committee is putting together a "recommended legal resources" list to send to public libraries.
   • Susan and Greg Fite, of the Government Relations Committee, plan to attend an all-California GRC meeting November 6, representing NOCALL. According to Greg, "this should be exciting because we need to develop more knowledge and a united approach on the state’s issues, particularly county law library income security and state archives."
   • Greg also signed on to a letter honoring and thanking Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont for his tireless efforts on behalf of civil liberties and open government. The Government Relations group plans on honoring Zoe Lofgren for similar work in the House.
   • Ramona Martinez, of the Membership Committee, reports that there are 329 active/renewed members. She is in the process of sending the new data to the Daily Journal so the 09/10 directory can be prepared. The hope is that the new directories will go out to members in November.

Diane Rodriguez, President, adjourned the meeting at 3:32 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Tibisay A. Boggio-Turner
NOCALL Secretary