Board President Briefing | September 2023

Special Trustee Workshop: Legal Talk Stephanie Cole Adams, Esq. on Wednesday, October 11, 2023

Stephanie Adams, Esq. (the System's attorney and the voice behind WNYLRC Ask the Lawyer Service) will be visiting OWWL Library System on October 11, 2023 to discuss operational scenarios to explore healthy board/director dynamics. She will discuss a variety of topics, and the audience will have an opportunity to ask questions.

After the workshop, the OWWL Library System will move right into its Annual Meeting and Election of Trustees. All Trustees of member libraries are welcome to attend and eligible to vote.

Click here to register. This is an in-person event; space is limited to 45 participants.

OWWL Library System Annual Meeting

Right after the Trustee Workshop mentioned above, the OWWL Library System will hold its Annual Meeting and Election of Trustees. All Trustees of Member Libraries are eligible to vote in this election. We will elect three Trustees to the System Board to serve three-year terms.

1. Alissa Bub (Ontario County)
2. Thomas Whitmore (Livingston County)
3. Patty Sampson-Bouchard (Ontario County)

This will be a brief business meeting. We greatly appreciate all who stick around to participate.

High Priority: Windows 10 Computers End of Life

Did you know that Windows 10 is reaching its End of Support in October 2025? That may seem far away, but it will be here before we know it. End of Support means that Microsoft will stop releasing important security updates for Windows 10 computers, leaving them vulnerable to malware and other cyberattacks.

Some computers currently running Windows 10 may be eligible to upgrade to Windows 11 for free. It's important that eligible computers are upgraded to Windows 11 and ineligible computers are replaced by November 2025.

Certain computer models must be replaced by November 2025. Directors have been sent a list of computer models that must be replaced.

OWWL Library System offers convenient computer purchasing at New York State contract pricing. For more information about the benefits of purchasing computers through the System, follow this link.

If you have any questions about the age of your library's computers or their eligibility for a Windows 11 upgrade, please have your Director open a ticket to discuss concerns with our IT Department.

The best way to accommodate computer purchasing is to build a computer replacement schedule so the library can space out expensive purchases. A helpful rule of thumb is to replace a third of your computers this year, a third next year, and a third in 2025. That will ensure that all machines are up to date and continue to operate on the computer's network.

2023 OWWL Cost Shares

The OWWL Library System Board of Trustees voted in favor of a one-year 46% subsidy on OWWL Cost Shares. This means for 2023, the OWWL Library System will fund a higher amount and charge a lesser amount to member libraries to cover the costs of Evergreen (the System-wide ILS).

The goal for reducing this year's cost to member libraries is to free up local funds to help offset the purchase of computer replacements that the Windows 10 end-of-life will impact in 2025 (mentioned above).

If your library's computers are on an up-to-date replacement schedule, that's great! You're welcome to spend the leftover from this reduction however you'd like. If you can't think of anything, we're always happy to spend funds on the OverDrive collection.

We will be invoicing for 2023 OWWL Cost Shares in the next couple of weeks.

For 2024, please budget for the traditional amount at the lower (21.7%) subsidy rate. We can only accommodate this one-year reduction mentioned above for FY 2023.

Reminder for Trustee Education

All Trustees are required to participate in two hours of continuing education this year. Below are links that have eligible recordings to satisfy this requirement.

• OWWL Docs Trustee Workshops
• Trustee Handbook Bookclub
• Library Trustee Webinars from DLD

Library Systems may authorize local training as long as it relates to financial oversight, accountability, fiduciary responsibilities, or the general powers and duties of a library trustee. Please let me know if there is a local training you would like me to review.

Sexual Harassment Prevention Training

Another training piece to remember is that Trustees must take the New York Sexual Harassment Prevention training annually. This has been highlighted in recent OSC audits, so it will be essential to make sure your library is in compliance.

Please be advised that the SHP training does not count towards the two hours of mandated training required for Trustees.