falcons meeting minutes may 2026

FALCONS Meeting Minutes – May 21, 2026

Minutes taken by Eric Franks (FLLS)

Attendance

Aimee Dorward (CORT), Amy Lamouroux (PORT), Andrea Tillinghast (OVID), Carla Piperno-Jones (UNS), Deborah Geier (FLLS), Eric Franks (FLLS), Erica Deretz (NIC), Gayle James (CATO), Heather Cobb (MCGR), Heather Tielens (TRU), Heidi Eckerson (FLLS), Jenny Shonk (FLLS), Kat (TCPL), Laura Lusk (DRY), Laura Rowley (LODI), Lisa Semenza (POP), Martsje Vanderschaaf (HOM), Melisa Crumrine (TCPL), Olivia Wojnar (AUB), Rex Helwig (FLLS), Sandra Groth (AURO), Sara Knobel (GRO), Sarah Glogowski (FLLS), Sophia McKissick  (TCPL), Sue Chaffee (NEW), Susie Gutenberger (LAN), Theresa Mekeel (CORT), Tom (TCPL), Tracy Savard (APAL)

Introduction & Announcements

Sarah Glogowski spoke about the lack of NY State budget, estimated to not be in place until after Memorial Day. Please send bullet aid letters. Regional Plan of Service meetings have been completed. Free Direct Access plan committee will be convened in the next week.

Jenny let us know that the Annual Reports corrections were higher due to the software change. Previous software caught errors.

Motion to approve the August minutes: Martsje motioned for approval.

Old Business

  • eContent Committee
    • If any libraries would like to join the eContent Committee, please reach out to Heidi, next meeting is 6/22
    • Heidi has had two recent interactions with public and library staff which was an opportunity to explain how eContent works
    • Discussion of creating info graphics to explain digital content
    • Explore Hoopla for member libraries, not in the budget for FLLS at this time
    • CSLA money will be used to boost eContent offerings
  • Vega
    • Vega migration paused until later in 2026 when WorldCat is available and integrated
    • Accessibility is being monitored but appears to be accessible fulfilling new law
    • PowerPAC is over 90% accessible.
    • Sophia asked if PowerPAC will be updated, no, no new development from Polaris
    • FLLS will give notice and help with migration for the changeover
    • PowerPAC is not going away until Vega is fully implemented, even then, server will remain as web reporting and Simply Reports run on that server
  • 2026 Bulk Buy
    • On hold until we can work with Dell sales rep on pricing
    • Dell contract with NYS not in place, may not be until NY has a budget
    • If you’re planning to buy computers this year, email Eric with an estimated count and budget
  • Patron Purge
    • 24 libraries responded to the patron purge, all record sets created and sent out
    • Several libraries have replied to purge their patrons
    • Please continue to let us know when to purge
    • If you haven’t submitted a patron purge form, you still can
  • Lost Item Policy
    • Jenny sent out the updated Lost Item Policy with changes from February FALCONS meeting
    • Will replace “claimed” with “claim” to clarify terminology
    • Question on “claim missing parts” and where to set. It’s in check-in
    • Clarification that damage is beyond normal wear and tear on the book, to include things such as damage by pets, water, smoke, more than just a spine failing or cover coming loose from normal usage
    • Martsje motioned to vote to approve. No objections

New Business

  • Server and Polaris Upgrade
    • Upgrading terminal server, SQL, and production server in anticipation of Polaris upgrade
    • Contracting with Polaris to configure the production server so Polaris upgrade goes smoothly
    • Looking at the last week of June or early July
    • Migrating to Polaris 8.1
  • FALCONS Committee
    • Sandy spoke for Lisa
    • Committee met and decided to work on book club kits and how to make them more understandable in the catalog
    • Still looking for representatives for Tioga, Cortland, and Seneca counties
  • Open Discussion
    • Currently troubleshooting issues with email coming from InMotion hosted email accounts being marked as spam by gmail.com recipients
    • Spoke with InMotion support on Tuesday and they said not their problem
    • Checked DNS settings to make sure settings that are used by email services to verify legitimacy of email are correct, also confirmed by InMotion
    • Submitted a ticket with Google/gmail about the subject
    • If we can’t find a solution with either InMotion or Google/gmail, may need to look into migrating to a new email service.