Public Services Committee Meeting: October 28, 2016

Conference Call

Members attending: Raeann Dossett (Parkland College); Anne-Marie Eggleston Green (Kishwaukee College); Joanna Kolendo (Chicago State University); Colleen Shaw (Heartland Community College); Cory Stevens (Lake Forest College), co-chair; Richard Stokes (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign); Julia Venetis (Elmhurst College)

Members absent: Marissa Ellermann (Southern Illinois University Carbondale); Susan Franzen, (Illinois State University), co-chair

CARLI staff attending: Elizabeth Clarage and Denise Green

Decisions

• The agenda was approved.
• The minutes of the September 15th, 2016 meeting were approved.
• It was decided that the November meeting will take place at its regular day and time despite the fact that a number of members will be absent as no other date would necessarily have better attendance.
• We will be in contact with the committee via e-mail with updates about the libraries we are contacting before the next meeting.

Tasks Assigned

• Joanna Kolendo agreed to take minutes.
• 2017 Open Houses: identify sites and start planning
  • Cory will contact IIT, the Art Institute, Winnetka-Northfield Public Library, and Northwestern University.
  • Denise will contact Joliet Junior College, University of Illinois-Springfield, and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
  • Richard will look at the two spaces at U of I.
  • Joanna will contact U of C and UIC.
  • Julia will contact Elmhurst Public Library and Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington branch.

Announcements

• Denise encouraged the committee to attend the CARLI annual meeting which is on Friday, November 18th in Champaign.
• Elizabeth informed the committee that Anne put out an announcement to CARLI governing libraries that are not a part of I-Share to see if they were interested in becoming part of I-Share before the new system is selected.
• Elizabeth informed the committee that the new system’s RFP is moving forward.  There was a meeting with a state procurement officer and the document is being revised based on the officer’s recommendations.

Discussion

• Annual Project: Makerspaces List
  • We should look at and contact places from the Chicago North Suburbs, Chicago, and Downstate that have Makerspaces.
  • An Update: At ILA, Susan talked to Rebecca Wolf from Winnetka-Northfield Public Library, and Rebecca might be interested in presenting about their Makerspace.
  • It was suggested that in addition to Winnetka, Northwestern can also be contacted as it is close to Winnetka.
  • Joliet Junior College has a Makerspace in their science area, and Denise has a contact there.
  • Elmhurst Public Library will be creating a Makerspace for sixty people, which will be available to residents and students from around the area.  Although the space will not open until spring and they might not be able to host, the chief creating director is willing to talk about the process of creating the space.
  • Aurora Public Library and Niles Public Library (40 minutes away from Winnetka) might also have Makerspaces or are in the process of creating their spaces.
  • There is a Facebook group, Makerspace Network, which provides useful information.  They have meetings ever few months.  
  • It was suggested that it would be good to have both public and academic libraries host, but we should focus on academic libraries, as these institutions serve a different purpose.  It was suggested that if we have public libraries host and present than we should have an academic library hold a discussion after the public library presents to see how the public spaces would translate in an academic environment.
  • We could also have brainstorming sessions among the participants.
• 2017 Open Houses: Identify Sites and Start Planning
  • Public libraries might be more flexible with times, as academic libraries typically are best to visit during spring break or slower traffic times on campus.
  • We should try to plan to visit two different places in a day. It is very important to consider the distance and transportation options between the libraries.
  • We should also consider either formal or informal tours after the presentations.
  • Possible places to contact Downstate include University of Illinois Springfield, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, and University of Illinois.
  • Possible places in Chicago to contact include ITT, University of Chicago, Chicago Public Library-Harold Washington Branch, The Art Institute, DePaul, Roosevelt, Robert Morris, UIC, and any other CARLI members in the downtown area.
  • Possible places for the Northwestern suburbs include Winnetka-Northfield Public Library and Northwestern University.  
  • It would be nice to have both art and science labs to visit.
  • The initial contact goal for the places we are e-mailing is to make it clear that we are looking for potential locations and we are contacting various locations. We also need to find out if they are interested in hosting and inquiry what equipment they have in their space.
• Status update on 2016 Open House Presenters - Short Video of Tools Project
  • Susan is hoping to contact people starting the week of October 31st and will have and update at the next meeting.

Next Meeting Date

Thursday, November 17th: 1:30 – 3:00