Minutes – April 10, 2026

Welcome and Call to Order

The two hundred tenth meeting of the Ohio Public Library Information Network (OPLIN) Board of Trustees was called to order at 10:00 ᴀ.ᴍ. on Friday, April 10, 2026 by Board Treasurer Meredith Wickham at the OPLIN office in Columbus, Ohio.

Present were Board members: Jenny Eyink, Mohamed Ragheb, Andrea Ralston, CJ Stephens, Brad Stephens, and Shawn Walsh.

Also present were: Jessica Dooley, Christine Morris, Laura Solomon, Don Yarman, and Derek Zoladz (OPLIN); Mandy Knapp (State Library); and Jay Smith (Ohio Library Council).

Attending virtually via Zoom: OPLIN Board members Jennifer Reynard; and Jamie Pardee and John Stewart (State Library).

Approval of the Agenda

Jenny Eynik moved to approve the agenda as presented; Andrea Ralston seconded. There was no discussion, so the chair called for a vote on the motion; all aye.

Public Participation

The Chair called for public participation.

Mandy Knapp reported that the State Library is relocating its collection to a high-density storage facility in Gahanna and its staff offices to a state-owned building on Chestnut Street. The State Library is piloting a cybersecurity program, conducting network assessments and applying for Category 2 funding for infrastructure upgrades within five libraries. Knapp also discussed the current grant opportunities at the State Library, the State Library's plans to assume administrative leadership of Search Ohio, the RFP for the library services platform to serve the SEO Consortium, the transfer of DPLA's cultural heritage metadata project to Cleveland Public Library, and a new State Library of Ohio Foundation.

Jay Smith reviewed OLC's recent events, including Legislative Day, the Fiscal Officers' conference, and the start of Trustee dinners. He noted that the current focus of the legislature is on the Capitol bill, and briefly touched on the promotional materials that OLC is putting together based on the extensive survey they conducted to gather data on how Ohioans feel about their public libraries.

Approval of the Minutes

Brad Stephens moved to approve the minutes of the February 13 meeting as presented; Mohamed Ragheb seconded. There was no discussion, so the Chair called for a vote on the motion; all aye.

Acceptance of the Financial Reports

Jamie Pardee reviewed the reports, noting the organization is on target with its budget, with a cash balance projected to be over $2 million by year-end. The E-rate receipts of $1.1 million were noted as overstated due to a temporary accounting issue that will be corrected in the next report. Yarman noted that the budgeted funds for Northstar Digital Literacy will not be spent as Broadband Ohio is covering that cost, and there were unexpected AT&T billing issues that may push the telecommunications line item overbudget until credits are issued.

Jenny Eyink moved to accept the financial reports; CJ Stephens seconded. There was no discussion, so the Chair called for a vote on the motion; all aye.

Unfinished Business

Spectrum Settlement

Yarman noted that OPLIN's lawyer made some minor edits to the settlement agreement Spectrum had proposed, and he was told that Spectrum's lawyer did not foresee any problems with the changes. It is estimated that OPLIN will receive about $200,000 as a result. 

New Business – none

CyberOhio Grant

Jessica Dooley said CyberOhio shared in a meeting that they have recommended that the cybersecurity projects submitted by CLEVNET, CLC, and OPLIN receive funding approval. Funding is stalled, however, until the federal Department of Homeland Security is funded by Congress. Once the funds are released, CyberOhio needs to have them spent by November. As the grant is structured to reimburse expenses, Yarman is asking for permission to spend up to $260,000 in unencumbered funds to purchase 3,400 YubiKeys of various types for distribution to 65 library systems that have requested them. 

Andrea Ralston moved to approve the use of unencumbered funds to purchase YubiKeys as part of the CyberOhio grant; Shawn Walsh seconded. There was no discussion, so the Chair called for a roll call vote on the motion.

Recorded vote: Jenny Eyink, aye; Mohamed Ragheb, aye; Andrea Ralston, aye; Brad Stephens, aye; CJ Stephens, aye; Shawn Walsh, aye; and Meredith Wickham, aye.

OPLIN Staff Reports

OPLIN Director's Report

Don Yarman discussed his recent Washington D.C. legislative visits, which were positive, and discussed a possible "GoFundMe" approach to see if more subscription databases can be offered statewide. Previously, the Board had given Yarman permission to purchase an online event/calendar management product for Webkit customers, and he provided an update on the selection: LocalHop, which was chosen for its cost-effectiveness while providing the desired functions.

Digital Resources Manager’s Report

Christine Morris reported on upcoming transition from the current Form 498 banking system to the more complex SAM.gov payment system. Libraries that currently use invoiced billing will need to register with SAM.gov by August, though this deadline may be extended. The FCC has added an agenda item for their April 30th meeting to propose the creation of a bidding portal (initially proposed and commented on in 2021).

Library Services Manager’s Report

Laura Solomon highlighted upcoming accessibility deadlines, particularly for libraries serving populations of $50,000 or greater, whose websites and apps must be ADA-compliant by April 24th. Solomon has been working to convert inaccessible PDFs into webforms for libraries, and discussed updates to the built-in accessibility checker for Webkits. Drupal 10 will reach end-of-life in December, so staff are working to prepare tools for migrating all sites to Drupal 11.

Technology Projects Manager’s Report

Jessica Dooley discussed the progress of circuit orders for the coming year, with 129 orders processed and potentially a few more Managed Branch Connections for libraries still deciding. Two major service-impact maintenance projects are upcoming: replacing routing engines in the core router and migrating 84 Spectrum circuits to 100 gig native handoff. Derek Zoladz was recognized for revising the mailing list software to improve accessibility ahead of deadline.

Chair's Report

Yarman noted that if Ben Bolbach had been able to attend, he would have reported that Meredith Wickham, Jen Reynard, and CJ Stephens had all agreed to be reappointed for a second term, so Yarman has sent that request to the State Library Board for approval at their May meeting.

Adjournment

With no other business pending, Jenny Eyink moved to adjourn; Andrea Ralston seconded. All aye. The Chair adjourned the meeting at 10:57 ᴀ.ᴍ.