New England Archivists - Minutes

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NEA Executive Board Meeting Minutes

Clapp Library, Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA, January 22, 2001

Call to Order:

The meeting was called to order by President Aimee Felker at 10:15 a.m. Present were Kathryn Hammond Baker, Jean Berry, MaryAnn Campbell, Glynn Edwards, Aimee Felker, Cally Gurley, Sheri Kelley, Joan Krizack, Maureen Melton, Deborah Richards, Bill Ross, Susan von Salis, Diana Smith, Rick Stattler, and Jane Ward.
Secretary's Report (Appendix A):

Secretary Diana Smith reported that the NEA Board voted on four issues via email between the October and January Board meetings:

a) To approve the revised Distinguished Service Award guidelines.
b) To approve the 2001 candidate slate and question.

c) To approve the October Board meeting minutes with the revision to #17 "…Felker said that she would (not should) talk…"

d) To approve a revision to the July Board meeting minutes: for # 12 the form is not ST-2 but ST-5.

Smith also asked the Board for funding to purchase a copy of Sturgis's Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure for the use of the NEA Secretary. President Aimee Felker asked that the Board approve the purchase of two (one for her use) if the current edition is more recent than 1992.

MOTION: On a motion by Representative-at-Large Joan Krizack, seconded by Vice-President Bill Ross, the Board voted to approve funding for the purchase of two copies of Sturgis's Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure should the latest edition be later than 1992.

Smith also distributed updates to the index of the Board meeting minutes.
Treasurer (Appendix B):

Treasurer MaryAnn Campbell announced that as of January 1, 2001, mileage reimbursements will be made at the rate of 34.5 cents per mile. She also announced that the Hale Fund Campaign has exceeded its goal of $5000.00 and reminded the Board that it needs to transfer NEA's matching contribution into the Hale Fund CD. Campbell recommended that the Board take money out of the mutual funds to do this.

Campbell handed out tax exempt forms for chairpersons and Board members to use when making purchases, and asked that committee chairs hand them out to their committee members who might be purchasing taxable items for NEA. She also stated that she has ST-5 forms, and that all local arrangements committees should have them to submit to the vendor hosting any NEA meeting.

Campbell stated that the bill for the Holy Cross meeting had still not come through, due to computer and personnel problems at Holy Cross, but that on the Friday just past she had been able to get a verbal confirmation from Mark Savolis of the amount of the bill. Felker suggested that wording concerning prompt presentation of the bill be added to future contracts. Campbell stated that the more common problem was getting a bill for speakers so that she could pay them. She suggested that if things were planned further in advance, NEA might not have to spend the large sums now spent on postage by not sending everything by first class mail. Representative-at-Large Joan Krizack remembered problems in the past when mail had not been sent first class, but offered to put it on the "to-do" list of the proposed Task Force on Organizational Efficiency.
Hale Fundraising Report (Appendix C):

Felker presented Hale Fundraising Co-chair Jim O'Toole's report on the campaign, which announced that $4,795.00 had been raised. Campbell's more recent report stated that more than $5000.00 had been raised.
Education (Appendix D):

Education Chair Maureen Melton said that Jennifer Tolpa will be reprising the "Reference and Access" full day workshop for the Spring 2001 meeting. For the Fall 2001 meeting, Bruce Stark will offer the full day "Arrangement and Description" workshop and Timothy Young will present "Planning for EAD in an XML World." Melton asked for Board approval to again sponsor the Museum & Library Archives Institute (aka Archives Camp) in June 2001.

MOTION: On a motion by Krizack, seconded by Representative-at-Large Kathryn Hammond Baker, the Board voted to approve co-sponsoring the Museum & Library Archives Institute in June 2001.

Melton brought up a concern of hers relating to cost of the workshop at the Spring meeting: that their standard workshop fee of $40.00 is higher than the Local Arrangements Committee's proposed $30.00 meeting fee. She stated that the Education Committee had attempted to be consistent in setting workshop fees, $40.00 for full day workshops and $20.00 for half day workshops, so as to assist archivists in planning funding requests. The sense of the Board was that this was a logical approach and should not be abandoned.

Melton mentioned that SAA seems to be backing away from doing regional association workshops as they are now moving towards distance learning, with the result that they are not likely to be doing a lot of joint workshops in the future.
Spring 2001 Program Committee (Appendix E):

Felker presented the report of the committee, stating that there were two concurrent sessions in the morning and in the afternoon, and three concurrent sessions midmorning.
Spring 2001 Local Arrangements Committee (Appendix F):

There were no representatives of the Local Arrangements Committee present. During discussion of the proposed budget, Berry pointed out that the estimate of 600 mailings is too low, because programs are sent out to our members, plus the members lapsed up to two years, plus other arts groups, and that the figure is likely to be closer to 1000 mailings. The Board was also concerned that final lunch arrangements had not been made and that the estimate of $8.50 per person for lunch was too low, and was frustrated that there was no local arrangements representative present to question on this point before setting the meeting fee. The number of members attending was judged to be too high; the Board felt that previous experience with meetings away from the center of New England meant that attendance would be closer to 125 people, thus affecting the price per person. Given these changes to the budget, the Board did not see how the Local Arrangements Committee's suggestion of $30.00 per person would work.

MOTION: On a motion by Krizack, seconded by Ross, the Board voted to set the meeting fee for the Spring 2001 meeting at $45.00, unless the corrected Local Arrangements budget indicates it needs to be higher to cover the per person cost of the meeting.
Development Report:

Development Coordinator Jane Ward stated that she had not yet sent out a vendor letter for 2001 yet, but that they would be sent out by the first of February. Ward reported that the four vendors who supported NEA in 2000 did receive free advertisements in the January newsletter. Felker and Ward had discussed ways around the lack of a vendor presence at the Spring 2001 meeting, where vendors are not allowed to be present. Such strategies include a deal whereby the vendors pay a fee of $100 and receive an ad in the Spring newsletter and a set of mailing labels, and are permitted to include something small for the meeting packets. Felker asked Ward to work on vendors for the Spring 2002 meeting with MARAC's Development Coordinator, as soon as that position is filled.
Public Relations (Appendix G):

Felker presented the Public Relations Coordinator Daniel McCormack's report, stating that a press release on Connell Gallagher's Distinguished Service Award was prepared and sent, that the Spring 2001 Local Arrangements Committee were provided with the names of 35-40 Vermont and New Hampshire artists or arts organizations to add to their mailing list for meeting packets, and that press releases had been sent out for the Spring meeting to relevant publications and news outlets. His report also stated that he had sent out packets of information regarding NEA to librarians in Massachusetts identified as having responsibility for history-related collections, and the Board asked Felker to have him coordinate this type of work with the Outreach and Membership Committees.
Outreach Committee (Appendix H):

Committee Chair Susan von Salis stated that the "Archives Sideshow" subcommittee met in December and is at work on plans for a sideshow event. They hope to have one scheduled by the Spring Board meeting. She had not yet heard a report from committee members who secured an information table at a science fiction convention in early January. A question was raised about the difference between the outreach brochure and the NEA brochure, and von Salis stated that the outreach brochure is much more basic, explaining what archives are, what archivists do, and pointed out that the text is up on the NEA website.
Newsletter (Appendix I):

Representative-at-Large Rick Stattler presented the report for the committee, acknowledging that the latest issue of the newsletter carries the incorrect volume and date, and lacks a date on the front, and conveyed the editor's promise that it would not happen again. No NEA member has volunteered to continue the newsletter indexing project as advertised in the previous issue and it is advertised again in the January 2001 issue.
Web Committee (Appendix J):

Co-Webmaster Glynn Edwards stated that the website now has images from all New England states except Rhode Island, and that for some states she had enough images for two to three months. The Committee is actively at work checking links and mapping out a plan to keep the website updated with current information, and would like to work with committees to make their sections more robust. Any feedback to the website is also appreciated.

In response to Smith's statement that she had not received the report, the Board suggested that in the future when calls for reports are sent out that Felker ask Board members to "reply all" in order to ensure that everyone receives reports. Another idea that was mentioned was a listserve set up for Board members. Web Coordinator Deborah Richards offered to investigate this idea.
Membership (Appendix K):

Membership Co-Chair Sheri Kelley stated that Gabriel Daniels at Northeastern University had provided images for the brochure, and brought four different versions of the brochure with images for the Board to look at.

She asked that the Board approve the addition of Beth Carroll-Horrocks as a new member to the committee.

MOTION: On a motion by Krizack, seconded by Stattler, the Board approved Beth Carroll-Horrocks as a new member to the Membership Committee.

Kelley stated that the directory would be ready for mailing in June, with a few changes. Berry suggested reinstating the geographical directory, and Kelley will investigate if this alters the cost of the directory significantly. It was suggested that the information at the back of the directory could be put on the web, and Kelley promised to investigate this idea.
Membership Secretary (Appendix L):

Felker presented Membership Secretary Anne Sauer's report, explaining that current membership is 278, quite low because there are many outstanding renewals. Reminder postcards would be sent this week to those whose renewal has not yet been received. Felker also stated that Sauer's term would expire in the summer, and that Deborah Richards had volunteered to be the new Membership Secretary.

MOTION: On a motion by Ross, seconded by Krizack, the Board approved Deborah Richards as the new Membership Secretary.
Task Force on Organizational Efficiency (Appendix M):

Felker presented the charge drawn up by Krizack, and discussion ensued as to the proper name of the task force and a clarification of its charge.

MOTION: On a motion by Ross, seconded by Krizack, the Board approved the creation of a Task Force on Fiscal Efficiency, with the charge to "Investigate ways in which NEA can maintain fiscal efficiency, especially through electronic communication, and make specific recommendations to NEA's Executive Board" composed of six members, including the Treasurer, and at least two other voting members of the Board, with current members being Campbell, Edwards, Joan Gearin, Krizack, Stattler, and von Salis. The time frame for this task force will be a status report due April 2001, a substantive report and discussion due in July 2001, with a final report in October 2001.

MOTION: On a motion by Krizack, seconded by Baker, the Board approved the appointment of von Salis as Chair of the Task Force on Organizational Efficiency.
Old Business: NEA Scholarships:

The newly appointed Task Force will look into the concept of establishing NEA scholarships.
Fall 2001 Program Committee (Appendix N):

No one was present from the committee to give the report. The printed report stated that the suggested theme is "Reflections: Looking Back, Looking Forward." The committee is working on proposed sessions, and has outlined a tentative schedule. Ward suggested that the vendor showcase would do well if it were in the same place as the coffee break, and suggested that the vendors be listed as an option for the sessions before and after lunch, with vendors actually listed on the program. If this idea is pursued, NEA will need a commitment earlier than usual in order to list them on the program. Ward also stated that it is also helpful if the vendors join the members at lunch. The Board recommended that if the Local Arrangements Committee set up lunch as a box lunch arrangement, that some time be set aside for a possible presentation of a Distinguished Service Award, perhaps at the time of the keynote.
Fall 2001 Local Arrangements Committee (Appendix O):

Committee member Smith reported for the Co-chairs of the Local Arrangements Committee. The morning registration will be in Sterling Memorial Library, and the afternoon reception in the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library. The Co-chairs are currently looking at a classroom building a block away from Sterling for the sessions, having given up on the Law School as a reliable venue. The Friday night reception will be held at the new Knights of Columbus museum, and sponsored by them. Krizack suggested that the committee look into getting a deal with a parking garage, given the tight parking situation in New Haven, and others suggested pointing out that every venue for the meeting would be within a one block radius in the registration materials. Felker asked that a draft budget be presented in May.
Old Business: Administrative Handbooks:

The Board discussed the administrative handbooks, which contain job descriptions and other relevant materials for Executive Board members and committee chairs. Rather than continuing to expect individuals to keep them up-to-date, the Board discussed ways to make this easier, suggesting the website as a good place for these documents.

MOTION: On a motion by Krizack, seconded by Baker, the Board moved to replace the hard copies of the administrative handbooks and ask the Web Committee to put the information on the NEA website by January 2002.

It was suggested that when the Nominating Committee sends out appointment letters, it should send a list of useful documents formerly in the Administrative Handbooks now on the website. Hard copies will be sent out with the appointment letter for those documents not up on the website until everything is mounted. It was agreed that the Secretary would keep an up-to-date copy of the handbook for reference at Board meetings.
Haas Award (Appendix P):

Felker presented NEA representative Lois Hamill's report, which stated that she had met with David Horn to discuss trying to publicize the award more, and had spoken with Dave Nathan by phone to discuss the November program with ARMA. She also worked to publicize the Haas Award to various organizations, and will work with the Publicity Coordinator on this in the future. Felker clarified that Hamill and Nathan both are NEA representatives to the Haas Committee.
Hale Award (Appendix Q):

Hale Award Chair Baker stated that there had been no applications for the Hale Award. In light of the success of the Hale Award Campaign, the award has been increased from $500.00 to $1000.00. Baker stated that an announcement should be made to that effect in the newsletter and on the website. Felker will work with McCormack to issue a press release. Representative-at-Large Cally Gurley will be the next Hale Award Chair.
Old Business: Job Descriptions:

The Board reviewed every job description, and the changes will be presented to Board members for a vote via email between the January and May Board meetings.
Immediate Past President (Appendix R):

Immediate Past President Berry announced that the Distinguished Service Award Committee had met and the award would be given to two people: Jim O'Toole and Hal Keiner. O'Toole will receive his at the Spring meeting, and Hal Keiner, due to his current location outside of New England, will be offered a choice of presentation at the Spring or Fall meeting.

As President of the Nominating Committee, Berry stated that candidate letters have been sent out and responses have been received to the candidate question. She asked whether the Board would consider a change to the bylaws to allow a non-contested slate instead of a contested, two candidates per position slate. She pointed out that the fact that one person has to lose has a chilling effect on getting unsuccessful candidates to run again. The Board accepted her offer to further research this matter.
Vice President (Appendix S):

Vice President Ross stated that NEA has paid a $500.00 deposit for the Newport Marriott Hotel for the Spring 2002, Newport, RI meeting. He is working with committee chairs of local arrangements and program committees to get planning underway. Plans are being finalized with the Sheraton Civic Center Hotel in Poughkeepsie for the Fall 2002 meeting, a joint meeting with MARAC. Planning for the Spring 2003 meeting in New Bedford, Massachusetts is underway; the host site will be the New Bedford Whaling Museum. Ross reported that the Fall 2003 meeting location at the University of Southern Maine has fallen through, as the timetable for library construction has been pushed back, with the likelihood that the library would still be under construction in Fall 2003. He is currently looking into the possibility of having Gurley and her institution, the University of New England, host the conference instead. They are looking for a commitment by May. Ross is also looking into possibilities of having the Spring 2004 meeting in Manchester, New Hampshire. Stattler suggested that NEA return to the Boston area in one of the meetings in the next few years, and Tufts and Northeastern were suggested as alternate possibilities for the Spring 2004 meeting.
Fall 2000 Program Committee (Appendix T):

Felker presented the final report on expenses and comments on sessions and the meeting in general.
Fall 2000 Local Arrangements (Appendix U):

Felker presented the report of Chair Mark Savolis, explaining that computer problems and personnel problems had prevented Holy Cross from presenting the bill until last Friday. The biggest challenge of the meeting was coordinating the AV needs for all the speakers in the sessions and workshops, and Savolis warned that a smaller facility would not likely be able to handle a multi-workshop format. The committee was disappointed by the poor showing of vendors at this meeting caused by the vacancy in the Development Coordinator, and by the poor turnout for the Friday night reception.
President (Appendix V):

President Felker asked for Board approval to appoint Barbara Austen as Co-Chair of the Fall 2002 program committee. This being the joint meeting with MARAC, a MARAC member will be the other program committee co-chair, most likely someone who knows NEA well.

MOTION: On a motion by Baker, seconded by Krizack, the Board approved the appointment of Barbara Austen as Co-Chair of the Fall 2002 Program Committee.

NEA received a request to co-sponsor the Fourth Annual Community Forum on Historical Records scheduled for May 11, 2001 at U Mass Amherst.

MOTION: On a motion by Krizack, seconded by Stattler, the Board agreed to co-sponsor the Fourth Annual Community Forum on Historical Records on May 11, 2001 with a $100 donation and a set of mailing labels.

Felker received a letter from the Council of Nova Scotia Archives indicating that it looks to NEA as a mentor organization, and that it is very interested in collaborating with NEA, especially for any meeting that might take place in Portland. The Board decided to send copies of the program announcement for the Portland meeting to the Council's leadership board.

Felker also stated that she received a proposal from Robert Guimond, NEA's accountant, to complete a review of NEA's books, and has forwarded it to Campbell for her review before signing it.
New Business

Felker reported that Jim O'Toole has indicated a desire to turn over his Clerkship duties. Felker stated that Berry had agreed to serve as Clerk.

MOTION: On a motion by Krizack, seconded by Ross, the Board approved the appointment of Jean Berry as NEA Clerk effective May 1, 2001.
Print Coordinator:

There was no report from the Print Coordinator, as there was no activity in this quarter.

MOTION: On a motion by Ross, seconded by Stattler, the Board voted to renew Diana Yount in the position of Print Coordinator.
Archival Advocacy Award:

The Board agreed that a review of the documentation for this award is necessary. von Salis has a candidate in mind and will work on a nomination.
Next Executive Board meeting:

The next meeting of the Executive Board will be held on Friday May 4, 2001 at Dartmouth College.
There being no further business, Felker adjourned the meeting at 4:40 p.m.