New England Archivists - Minutes

Home > About > Business > Minutes > July 12, 1999

NEA Executive Board Meeting Minutes

July 12, 1999, Scituate, Mass.

Call to Order
The meeting was called to order by President Berry at 11:00 a.m. Present were Liz Andrews, Kathryn Hammond Baker, Jean Berry, MaryAnn Campbell, Ed Desrochers, Judy Farrar, Aimee Felker, Sheri Kelley, Joan Krizack, Kevin Logan, and Beth Patkus.
Minutes of the April 9, 1999 Board meeting (Appendix A)
MOTION: On a motion by Desrochers, seconded by Logan, the Board voted to accept the minutes of the April 9, 1999 Board meeting.
Secretary's report
Patkus distributed the updated list of officers and committees, as well as the updated Guidelines for Honoraria for Program Speakers and updated job descriptions for the Public Relations Coordinator, Development Coordinator, and Nominating Committee. She will put together a list of material that should be included in the administrative handbooks to all Board members.
Treasurer's report (Appendix B)
Campbell reminded the Board of the September 30 deadline for 2000 budget requests-the Board will vote on the 2000 budget at its Fall meeting. She pointed out that the Board should consider raising the budget line item for accountant fees, since nearly half of the amount budgeted for 1999 has already been spent. She reported that the Spring meeting had a surplus of $3876.66, and she distributed a report on the average costs of NEA meetings over the past three years. It was noted that the last several years show a trend of meeting surpluses and some Board members suggested that the Board could be less concerned about keeping meeting costs (honoraria, etc.) down. It was also noted that surpluses could be used toward other activities that serve members. However, Campbell pointed out that costs for specific meetings have varied widely, that some surpluses have been fairly small, and that some of the surplus funds have been the result of cost-cutting measures on the part of program and local arrangements committees. The consensus of the Board was that the issue of meeting surpluses should continue to be monitored.

Campbell also reported that NEA's mutual funds continue to lose money ($136.93 for the period of April 30 to May 31, 1999). Jill Greenberg, NEA's financial consultant from Financial Strategy Associates, has offered to reinvest NEA's mutual funds at no charge.

MOTION: On a motion by Krizack, seconded by Patkus, the Board voted to empower Campbell to speak with Jill Greenberg about reinvesting NEA's mutual funds and to take appropriate action.
Ad Hoc Committee on the NEA Web Site (Appendix C)
Baker presented the report of the Ad Hoc Committee, which proposed a mission statement for the Web site, a prioritized list of audiences (members, prospective members/archivists in New England, non-archivists in New England, and archivists outside of New England), and a detailed redesign of the content and organization of the site. The Committee asked that the Board: 1) approve the proposed Web site mission statement and redesign, 2) appoint a Web Committee comprised of a representative from each official NEA body (i.e., Board, committees, Newsletter) to generate content for the site, 3) appoint a Co-Webmaster to assume some of the increased work that will be required to maintain the site, 4) appoint a Web Coordinator to work with the Committee and the Co-Webmasters to develop stylistic and content standards and guidelines, train committee members, and provide technical support, and 5) appoint a small Web site Budget Subcommittee to assess costs of the site redesign and subsequent upkeep.

The Board discussed the Committee's proposal at length. After some discussion, the Board agreed with the Committee's emphasis on services to members. The Board also agreed that there should be a line item in the budget for maintaining the Web site. This will be discussed further once the cost of redesign and maintenance is determined. The Board discussed employing a professional designer on a one-time basis to design the "look" of the site. Several Board members felt strongly that this was a good idea, and the Web Committee will consider it. After some clarification of the role and responsibilities of the Web Coordinator and the proposed Web Committee, there was general agreement that the Board should go ahead with the Committee's recommendations.

MOTION: On a motion by Krizack, seconded by Felker, the Board voted to approve the proposed mission statement for the NEA Web site.

MOTION: On a motion by Krizack, seconded by Desrochers, the Board voted to approve the redesign of the Web site as proposed by the Ad Hoc Committee on the Web Site.

Before its vote to establish a Web Committee, the Board discussed at length the proposed composition of this committee. Several Board members questioned why such a large committee is needed. They envision that the Web site would be similar to the Newsletter in that a small group would do the actual work of maintaining the site, while a larger group would be responsible solely for submitting content. Baker noted that having a large committee-even if it is not a working committee that meets in person-emphasizes the importance of this project and is more likely to get new and enthusiastic people involved, and thus increase the chances that contributions to the Web site will be forthcoming. The final consensus of the Board was that the project should start with a small Web Committee, responsibility for contributing to the site should be added to committee and other appropriate job descriptions, and the Board should consider adding more people to the committee later if it seems necessary.

MOTION: On a motion by Krizack, seconded by Desrochers, the Board voted to establish a Web Committee comprised of the Co-Webmasters, the Web Coordinator, a representative from the Ad Hoc Committee, and a member of the Board.

MOTION: On a motion by Krizack, seconded by Felker, the Board voted to appoint Debbie Richards as Co-Webmaster and Lisa Plato as Web Coordinator. Baker will compile a charge for the Web Committee from the Ad Hoc Committee's report. The Web Committee will come up with a budget for redesign and maintenance of the site by September 30. Berry thanked the Ad Hoc Committee and declared it dissolved.
Nominating Committee (Appendix D)
Desrochers reported that Jim O'Toole and Megan Sniffin-Marinoff will serve on the Nominating Committee for the coming year. The Committee is currently identifying potential candidates and hopes to have a final list of candidates by the November meeting. Desrochers encouraged the Board and others to submit suggestions for potential candidates for Vice President, Secretary, and/or Representative at Large.
Meetings
- Spring 1999 Program and Local Arrangements (Appendix E)
  Berry presented Jane Ward's written report and thanked the program and local arrangements committees. The meeting had total attendance of 231 and comments were very positive. On the question of returning to Lowell in 2001, 36 (out of 83 evaluation forms returned) voted to return to Lowell, 17 to go elsewhere in the Boston area, and 18 to go elsewhere in New England.
- Fall 1999 Program (Appendix F)
  Berry presented Roberta Ransley's written report. She requested that the Board approve a total honoraria amount of $650 for the meeting.
  
  MOTION: On a motion by Krizack, seconded by Desrochers, the Board voted to approve a total honoraria amount of $650 for the Fall 1999 meeting.
- Fall 1999 Local Arrangements (Appendix G)
  Berry presented Bill Ross' report. After some discussion, the consensus of the Board was to set the registration fee at $45. MOTION: On a motion by Felker, seconded by Desrochers, the Board voted to set the Fall 1999 meeting registration fee at $45.
- Spring 2000 Program Committee (Appendix H)
  Liz Andrews presented Donna Webber's written report on the preliminary program. The committee is in the process of finding a keynote speaker and session speakers. The program will include both traditional sessions and one session devoted to small discussion groups with expert facilitators for each group. The committee requested the Board's permission to offer potential session speaker Kathy Marquis (Bentley Library, University of Michigan) either an honorarium or money toward travel expenses, even though she is an NEA member.
  
  MOTION: On a motion by Felker, seconded by Krizack, the Board voted to authorize the
  
  Program Committee to offer $200 to Kathy Marquis to offset travel expenses if she speaks at the Spring 2000 meeting. Felker pointed out that the preliminary program does not provide time for a vendor showcase. Andrews will follow up on this with the Committee.
- Spring 2000 Local Arrangements (Appendix I): Berry presented Ward's written report.
  The contract has been signed with the DoubleTree Hotel and the Local Arrangements Committee has agreed to return for Spring 2000.
- Fall 2000 Program and Local Arrangements (Appendix J)
  Berry presented Daria D'Arienzo's written report. She noted that an honorarium of $500 has been offered to (and accepted by) Jill LePore to give the keynote speech at the Fall 2000 meeting. At the time the offer was made, the committee was aware only of the total $1200 cap on honoraria and not of the $250 cap on honoraria for keynote speakers. The Board discussed this issue at length. While the consensus of the Board was that this will be an excellent presentation, the Board was concerned that not following the guidelines sets an unfortunate precedent for future program committees. Several Board members emphasized the importance of committees being aware of the honoraria guidelines and consulting the Board in advance about any potential deviation from those guidelines. It was suggested that the Board take $250 from the general fund to cover the $250 in excess of the standard honorarium for LePore-and thus avoid setting a precedent. The Board also asked the President to write the Fall 2000 Program Committee about its decision on the $250 payment to LePore and to request that the Committee spend a maximum of $1200 on all honoraria for the meeting.
  
  MOTION: Baker, seconded by Krizack, moved that the Board vote to pay $500 to Jill LePore to give the keynote speech at the Fall 2000 meeting. Campbell, seconded by Krizack, offered an amendment to allocate $250 from the honoraria budget and $250 from the general fund as an additional fee. The amended motion was passed.
  
  Berry also reported that she visited Holy Cross and determined that there is sufficient space to accommodate the proposed program. Chair Mark Savolis is finalizing the Local Arrangements Committee.
- Meeting Planning Manual
  Since Jane Ward was unable to attend the Board meeting, Berry reported that she and Ward will put together a report on the meeting planning manual and circulate it via email.
Vice President's report (Appendix K)
Felker reported that NEA office hours at SAA will be on August 26th. The NEA party at SAA will be Thursday night after the awards ceremony. Felker asked the Board for a decision on where to meet in Spring 2001. The Board discussed whether to meet again at Lowell or to go elsewhere. It was noted that while it is traditional to have one meeting per year in Boston, NEA's bylaws do not require it. It was also noted that member feedback from the spring meeting indicated that the respondents were equally divided on the issue. Felker pointed out that Dartmouth College is eager to host the Spring 2001 or the Spring 2002 meeting, and she recommended that the Spring 2001 meeting be held there.

MOTION: On a motion by Felker, seconded by Baker, the Board voted to meet at Dartmouth College in Spring 2001.

Felker also reported on her efforts to locate meeting sites for the 2002 meetings. She suggested that it will be time to meet again in either Rhode Island, Maine, or Vermont. The Board directed Felker to look for a meeting site for Spring 2002 in Rhode Island (possibly Newport) or southern Maine (possibly Portland). The sense of the Board was also that investigation should begin of a new site for another 3-year cycle of spring meetings starting in 2003.

The Board also discussed the possibility of a joint meeting with MARAC in Fall 2002. Felker reported that MARAC is interested in a joint meeting at that time in the Tarrytown/Sleepy Hollow, NY area. Sh>

Transfer interrupted!

ortunity for NEA members to learn what colleagues in other regions are doing, and that it is time for NEA to take advantage of this chance to meet with MARAC since the idea for a joint meeting with that organization was first proposed in 1993. The Board discussed the pros and cons of meeting so far south. It was suggested that more educational programs might be offered independent of the meeting in that year, for the benefit of those who could not travel that far to attend the meeting. Felker also noted that a final decision has not yet been made about the site. The consensus of the Board was that planning should proceed, with Felker negotiating for a site that is as far north as possible.

MOTION: On a motion by Krizack, seconded by Logan, the Board voted to empower Aimee Felker to negotiate with MARAC to hold a meeting with them in Fall 2002 at a mutually-convenient location.
Education Committee (Appendix L)
Berry presented Maureen Melton's written report. Plans are set for the Fall NEA workshops. SAA will offer its two-day EAD workshop on Thursday and Friday, Nov. 4th and 5th. There will also be a full-day "Caring for Historical Records" workshop, a half-day workshop on finding aids, and a half-day workshop on bringing students into archival repositories.
Membership Committee (Appendix M): Kelley presented the Committee's report.
The Handbook and Directory was completed in May and printed and mailed out to members in June. The Committee suggests that in future only the directory should be in print, and the handbook information should be moved onto the Web site. The Committee also suggested that each NEA committee submit a yearly report to the Secretary in April that includes current committee members, members who resigned or whose terms ended during the year, and new members and the month they joined. This will make it easier to update committee membership information in the Handbook. The NEA brochure has also been updated and printed, and the membership committee and membership secretary job descriptions have been updated.
Newsletter Editors (Appendix N)
Farrar presented the report. Two new editors will need to be appointed (to replace Judy Farrar and Tracy Croce), one at the November Board meeting and one at the January meeting. She also noted that suggestions are welcome for issue-oriented articles (the Archival Insight and Open Forum features) and that the editors will meet in November 1999 to plan the January 2000 issue, so any millennium-related material to be included should be submitted before that date.
Outreach Committee (Appendix O)
Berry presented Susan von Salis' written report. Glynn Edwards and Frances Overcash have joined the committee. The committee is currently compiling contact information about potential audiences for the speakers bureau and will enter this information into a database. A mailing will be done in mid July and the committee hopes to begin sending out speakers by the fall.
NEA Archives (Appendix P)
Berry presented Betsy Pittman's written report. The Board agreed to discuss her recommendations regarding the destruction of various records not of long-term value to NEA at its November meeting. It was also suggested that the NEA Archives finding aid be placed on the NEA Web site.
Print Coordinator
No report.
Public Relations Coordinator
No report.
Awards
Advocacy, Distinguished Service, Haas, Hale (Appendix Q): There were no reports on the Archival Advocacy, Distinguished Service, or Haas awards. Krizack reported that the Hale Award Committee sees a couple of reasons for the reduction in the number of applications for the award in recent years: the lack of clarity in written materials publicizing the award and its purpose, and the limited funds available for the award. The committee would like to address these problems by developing new descriptive information and publicity materials, and by initiating a fundraising campaign to double the current endowment (from $10,000 to $20,000)-thus allowing for a $1000 instead of a $500 award each year. This campaign would include direct mailings and phone contacts, it would require an initial contribution from NEA of $5000 as a base for a "matching funds" campaign, and it would target major vendors as well as NEA members.

The Board discussed this proposal at length. Several Board members expressed concern about the purpose of the award as articulated by the committee: "to nurture newer professionals." It was the consensus of the Board that the statement of purpose should say "all professionals" instead. Berry also expressed concern about whether or not there are restrictions on fundraising activities by a non-profit. Campbell will consult with Bob Guimond, NEA's accountant, on this issue. The Board also discussed the advisability of allocating $5000 of the general fund toward this project. Campbell pointed out that the Board should take into consideration other upcoming expenses, such as the Web site project. She noted that $5000 is half of the amount currently held in NEA's checking account. Others pointed out that perhaps the money could be taken out over the course of two budget cycles rather than one. It was also noted that the Board should be careful to insure that only $5000 would be matched by NEA, even if more is raised in contributions. The consensus of the Board was that this is a worthwhile project that supports NEA's mission, and that the money should be allocated even if some of NEA's mutual funds have to be cashed in.

MOTION: On a motion by Felker, seconded by Berry, the Board voted to accept the report of the Hale Award Committee (with the change of "newer professionals" to "all professionals" in the award's statement of purpose) and to authorize up to $5000 from the general fund to be committed to a Hale Award fundraising campaign to raise the principal to at least $20,000, so that the Hale Award would be an annual award of $1000.

Berry will approach several long-time members to lead the campaign. Felker pointed out that if it is decided to solicit vendor contributions for the Hale Award campaign rather than for meetings during the coming year, this should be reflected in the annual solicitation letter that is sent out in September.
President's report (Appendix R)
Berry asked for Board approval of appointments for PR Coordinator and representative to the Haas Award Committee.

MOTION: On a motion by Krizack, seconded by Felker, the Board voted to approve the appointment of Dan McCormack as Public Relations Coordinator and Steve Cohen as a member of the Haas Award Committee.

Berry also reported that she has asked the Print Coordinator to send copies of old meeting announcements and ballots to the NEA Archives, and that she continues to look for someone to fill the Development Coordinator position.
Old Business
None.
New Business
Kelley reported that MARAC has requested a set of NEA mailing labels for its Fall meeting on Long Island. The Board authorized distributing free of charge NEA mailing labels to MARAC when requested.
Next Executive Board meeting
The next meeting of the Executive Board will be held on Friday, November 5, 1999, at the University of New Hampshire from 1-5 p.m.
There being no further business, Berry adjourned the meeting at 4:30 p.m.

NEA Executive Board Meeting Minutes

July 12, 1999, Scituate, Mass.

Transfer interrupted!