Minutes – June 12, 2026

Welcome and Call to Order

The two hundred eleventh meeting of the Ohio Public Library Information Network (OPLIN) Board of Trustees was called to order at 10:02 ᴀ.ᴍ. on Friday, June 12, 2026 by Board Chair Ben Bolbach.

Attending virtually via Zoom: Board members Ben Bolbach, Jenny Eyink, Andrea Ralston, Jennifer Reynard, CJ Stephens, Shawn Walsh, and Meredith Wickham; Jessica Dooley, Laura Solomon, Don Yarman, and Derek Zoladz (OPLIN); John Stewart (State Library); and Michelle Francis and Jay Smith (Ohio Library Council).

Approval of the Agenda

Andrea Ralston moved to approve the agenda as presented; CJ Stephens seconded. There was no discussion, so the Chair asked if there were any objections or abstentions. Hearing none, the motion passed unanimously.

Public Participation

The Chair called for public participation.

Jay Smith provided updates on recent legislative activities, noting that the legislature has largely concluded for the year until after November elections. He highlighted two key pieces of legislation affecting libraries: House Bill 472 requiring public libraries to provide free photocopies of IDs upon voter request (which was already in law since 2021 but with updated wording), and Senate Joint Resolution 10, which will appear on November's ballot as a constitutional amendment to enshrine voter ID requirements. As a line item appropriation, the PLF was lower than previous fiscal years, and OLC will be putting together an analysis comparing the PLF as an appropriation vs a percentage of the GRF. Jay also announced that OLC will host two upcoming webinars: one on July 14th covering legislative activity from the first half of the year, and another on July 30th about the National Voter Registration Act with a presenter from the Secretary of State's office.

John Stewart  provided updates from the State Library, including progress on the move to new locations and Jay Miley's promotion to Director of Consortial Services, where he will oversee SearchOhio administration. The State Library also completed demonstrations for an ILS RFP with three remaining vendors, and the evaluation committee is finalizing scores for a future decision to be announced in August.

Approval of the Minutes

Andrea Ralston moved to approve the minutes of the April 10, 2026 meeting as presented; Shawn Walsh seconded. There was no discussion, so the Chair asked if there were any objections or abstentions. Hearing none, the motion passed unanimously.

Acceptance of the Financial Reports

Don Yarman reported that with two weeks left in the fiscal year, OPLIN's expenses remain within the budgeted appropriation, with a cash balance of nearly two million dollars. Jessica Dooley reported that CyberOhio is applying for extensions on the CISA Cybersecurity Grants, which have been delayed two and half months due to federal funding interruptions.

Andrea Ralston moved to accept the financial reports; Shawn Walsh seconded. There was no discussion, so the Chair asked if there were any objections or abstentions. Hearing none, the motion passed unanimously.

Unfinished Business – none

New Business – none

Statement on Digital Rights for Protecting Memory Institutions Online

The Internet Archive's Statement on Digital Rights for Protecting Memory Institutions Online calls for extending the rights and responsibilities that libraries, archives, and museums have enjoyed offline into the online environment as well, including:

  • Collect materials in digital form
  • Preserve digital materials
  • Provide controlled access to digital materials
  • Cooperate with other memory institutions

Yarman thinks the goals of the statement align with OPLIN’s mission of ensuring equity of access to electronic information for all residents of this state, and asked for the board’s permission to endorse it on behalf of OPLIN.

Meredith Wickham moved to approve endorsing the Statement on Digital Rights for Protecting Memory Institutions Online; Jenny Eyink seconded. There was no further discussion, so the Chair asked if there were any objections or abstentions. Hearing none, the motion passed unanimously.

Spectrum Voice MSA

OPLIN's Spectrum representative asked if OPLIN would establish a Master Services Agreement for voice packages. Yarman was concerned that doing so would effectively be an endorsement of Spectrum's solution, but thought he'd bring the request to the board for their opinion. Jennifer Reynard and Ben Bolbach expressed agreement that OPLIN's current practice of discussing various solutions libraries might explore is a better role, and that managing a Master Services Agreement for these services would create an additional support workload.

Staff Reports

OPLIN Director's Report

Yarman reported that the FCC has ordered the creation of an E-Rate bidding portal. He doesn't anticipate that moving the bidding process to the portal will be problematic for OPLIN, but is concerned that such a portal may discourage small local carriers from bidding. The FCC also released notices of potential rulemaking which question whether E-Rate has fulfilled its mission and should be limited or sunset. These actions have alarmed organizations such as SHLB, and believe they represent an existential threat to E-Rate funding. Ohio schools and libraries receive $82 million each year, with libraries alone receiving $5.8 million—about as much as the State Library receives annually in LSTA funds. SHLB has scheduled a webinar for July 16th to discuss the issue with stakeholders and to prepare the E-Rate community for action during the FCC's comment period.

Digital Resources Manager’s Report

Yarman noted that Christine Morris's written report had links to more information about FCC actions, and added that Morris is investigating which libraries may need assistance with the SAM.gov registrations in advance of upcoming E-Rate requirements.

Library Services Manager’s Report

Laura Solomon reported that the work to on-board libraries to the new LocalHop event manager has begun, and OPLIN will be hosting training sessions with LocalHop the following week. Solomon also discussed new design tools that will be available in the next release of Drupal. While the Department of Justice has delayed accessibility deadlines for library websites and apps, Solomon emphasized that meeting accessibility requirements is still a vital practice for library services to the disabled.

Technology Projects Manager’s Report

Jessica Dooley discussed the recent maintenance performed on the OPLIN Core router, highlighting challenges encountered with replacing the routing engines before she and OIT engineer Mike Horsely completed the upgrades successfully during a second maintenance window. Dooley reported that new circuit installations are proceeding on schedule, and praised Derek Zoladz's work modernizing OPLIN's internal information systems, particularly with the addition of new datapoints reflecting the changes in the types of connectivity services OPLIN provides to libraries. Ben Bolbach thanked the team for his library's smooth migration to hosted ILS services, particularly highlighting the seamlessness of database authentication.

Chair's Report

The Chair had nothing further to report.

Adjournment

With no other business pending, Meredith Wickham moved to adjourn; Andrea Ralston seconded. Hearing no objections, the Chair adjourned the meeting at 10:49 ᴀ.ᴍ.