Absent: Dennis Clark, Nunzia Giuse, Lisa Shipman

Agenda
1. Copier Task Force Report -- Bill Hook
2. Barred Patrons Policy -- Bill Hook
Announcements

1. Copier Task Force Report
A synopsis of the report was distributed at the meeting. Bill Hook reported that the group recommended that negotiations begin with CCS for the purchase of 17 copier machines. Four companies responded to the group’s request for a bid and of those four, two were substantially more competitive, due to the availability of after-hours and weekend maintenance service. Only one other vendor, R. J. Young, would offer evening and weekend service, and that would have brought their maintenance cost proposal up above CCS, which happens to be our current vendor.

When Paul Gherman asked about the life span of the copiers, Bill said that the group estimates the equipment to last for 5 years. This was based on the repair records for the currently leased analog machines, which have more parts. Per charge costs would be estimated at 8 cents/copy, which would likely produce a modest reserve of $10,000 to $15,000 after 3 years. Lowering the charge to 7 cents/copy would run a deficit after 2 years. Paul noted that the price should be the same as computer printer charges, should those come into effect. However, Bill reiterated that the reserves would not cover the capitalization of the equipment.

The next step will be to have CCS submit a final proposal based on our needs. The Task Force plans to complete the process by mid-September, when the library’s existing Cannon copiers must be returned under their lease agreement. Paul asked if the new copiers would use Venda cards and Bill stated that they would, although he would be meeting with Kay Keaton in the card office to determine if we could use VU ID cards in the future.

2. Barred Patrons Policy

Bill brought forward a question from CAG regarding recent instances of physically barred patrons. How do we process barring of patrons within divisions and system-wide? What are the criteria for barring a patron? Paul noted that there are different approval levels depending on the type of patron. For non-Vanderbilt affiliated patrons on courtesy cards, a divisional director has the authority to bar a patron site-wide. For faculty, students, and Vanderbilt staff, approval must be sought from a higher administrative post, such as the dean or provost. John Haar noted that in the recent case involving a patron leaving notes attached to desks, the police asked John to bar the patron while the case was reviewed.

When should a patron be barred from the libraries? Clearly, harassing a staff member would be considered grounds for barring a patron. Deb Sommer noted that when a divisional director is notified about staff harassment, the director has a responsibility to act on it. The issue is less clear when someone is only acting strangely. It is up to the divisional director to make that decision.

When staff members or patrons are harassed, it is appropriate to call the VU police to have the offenders escorted from the building. However, Martin Cerjan reported that he recently telephoned the police to evict a patron, but the police did not come. Norman Nash offered to speak with the police to see if they would respond to such requests. Sherre Harrington asked Norman to ask the police if they have suggestions for how to handle these individuals. Should the police be given a list of individuals banned from the libraries?

Sherre expressed concern over the lack of clear procedure in communicating the names of barred patrons to other divisional libraries. Paul stated that the division director barring the patron should report the event to all members of LMC, and OUL would contact the card office. Bill noted that directors should document the event including reasons for the barring. He also stated that a note is placed in the patron’s ACORN record by library staff, if the patron has circulation privileges.

Announcements

Celia Walker announced that she will try to send out final minutes of the LMC meetings on the Friday of the week of the meeting, so please turn in edits to her by Thursday afternoon.

Deb Sommer announced that she is still looking for librarians; please send her names of people willing to work temporarily in the afternoons and on weekends.