Meeting Minutes for 05/11/2021

CuriosityStream Milestones

• 40+ distribution partners, 3.5K+ titles and series, and $1.25B original production value

General Information

• 3,600 different current titles and 10 - 15 titles added weekly
• New and classic historical content
• Do not charge for downloads so patrons can watch all content on their computer, tablet, or phone
• Fee-based on the volume of cardholders
• Content for kids was developed and recently added in the last six months, and all programming is family viewing oriented 
• Unique URL for each library
• Pricing is opt-in. However, all-in pricing is much cheaper.
• Will give a trial account to anyone who requests it. Just need a name and email address.
• Any consumer can subscribe to the service for $19.99  a year

Q & A

• Q: Is there an admin dashboard where we can see usage stats and how our patrons interact with the service?
• A: No. There is no dashboard at this time. Robert thinks this is something that can be developed.
• Q: Is there any usage reporting?
• A: No. There are no usage stats at this time. Robert will find out if this is something they can do in the future. 
• Q: Do you have Marc records or an API that can add titles to our catalog?
• A: Yes. We have a patron API. No, we do not have Marc records. 
• Q: Would your audience level for your content be appropriate for a college biology student?
• A: Certain content like shows on quantum physics would definitely be appropriate for a college student.
• Q: Could we see the list of videos that are unique to CuriosityStream?
• A: Robert will work on getting a list of unique titles.
• Adam pointed out to Robert that if they are to continue to consider working with libraries they are going to need statistics, Marc records, and the highest standard of patron privacy. 

CuriosityStream Discussion

• Tammy shared that she has not yet shared the FTE information from CMC with Robert to find out if the academics could get better pricing. She will share the information and will update the academics as soon as she knows more.
• Adam added a column to the spreadsheet asking people if they would be interested in CuriosityStream if they had Marc records and statistics.

Curation of the shared collection (Liz)

• Updating staff picks quarterly (opinions, contributions)
  • Liz thanked the group for sending her ideas about books to film
  • Titles on the staff picks are circulating really well
  • For May, Liz was hoping to refresh the staff picks
    • She will remove the titles with lower circulation and add new titles
    • Liz would like any suggestions for things that have come out recently or things that are just new to you that you really like
•  Tails & Tales for Summer Reading Program (SRP)
  • For June, Liz is curious if the group would like to see an adult “Tales & Tails” curated list
  • The SRP is the cooperative shared summer reading program 
  • Tales & Tales is the SRP theme this year
  • If anyone has an idea for a particular curated list category contact Liz with that information

Revisit “Recommend to Library” from Overdrive (Liz)

• RTL benefit for Advantage libraries is when a patron recommends a title, your library would be able to see that the patron recommended it within the Marketplace and purchase the title. Once you purchase the title, the patron who recommended it will be automatically placed in line to receive that title.
• Everyone would have to decide to opt-in
• Liz talked about the challenges associated with not having to Recommend to Library (RTL) when it comes to placing a hold for a patron who requested a title for purchase
  • She ordered a book her patron requested using the Marmot request form
  • She had to open up a browser and repeatedly refresh for about 2 hours until the title appeared so she could place it on hold for her patron.
• Liz spoke with Abbey and realized the only option for us to avoid the scenario is to add RTL
• Liz pointed out that the OverDrive Purchase Request form allows patrons to request titles that do not exist in OverDrive.
• Liz must tell her patrons that the title they requested does not exist in OverDrive
• Liz informed the group that RTL can be set to any level for how many requests a patron can make in a month. Liz suggested one a month. Other libraries wanted higher limits or no limits set. The number has to be set by the group. 
• Leah who is using ACDC mentioned that RTL is pretty slick except occasionally when a patron asks for something that has already been recommended by another patron--they will end up lower in the hold list and they are surprised by that sometimes.
• Alysa suggested that the OverDrive Purchase Request is useful to know what their patrons would like to read that is currently not in OverDrive. She will request that OverDrive reach out to the publishing house to acquire these titles. If the group does decide to turn on RTL, Alysa would still like the form listed on the Marmot OverDrive site.
• Liz mentioned that with the Marmot OverDrive Purchase Request form that the patron fills it out and could get the title or author information incorrect, and you have to reach out to the patron.
• Alysa asked how RTL works from the patron side. Liz informed the group that the patron would click on the title and receive a message, “your library does have this item, would you like to recommend it?” The patron would fill out some information. The patron would see the cover art, and pick the format. The patron will only see things that are in the OverDrive collection.
• Ashley wondered if the Marmot OverDrive Purchase Request form could not be better replaced with something from Pika or a link from your existing form from your library website. Alysa mentioned that if a patron is in the app and not on a website to find different forms. She likes that when the patron fills out the form it goes straight to her email. 
• The group decided to have Abbey from OverDrive come to the June meeting to review how RTL works and the group will vote on whether to make this service active at the June meeting as well.

The next meeting is on June 8 at 1 p.m.