New England Archivists - Minutes

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NEA Executive Board Meeting Minutes

March 22, 2002, Redwood Library, Newport, RI

1. Call to Order

The meeting was called to order by President Bill Ross, at 12:22 pm.

Present: Liz Andrews, Paul Carnahan (via teleconference), Beth Carroll-Horrocks, Glynn Edwards, Aimee Felker, Cally Gurley, Joan Krizack, Peter Parker, Bill Ross, Karen Spicher, Rick Stattler, Susan von Salis, Jane Ward, Rutherford Witthus. Due to Secretary Diana Smith's absence, von Salis was appointed acting Secretary for the purposes of taking minutes for the meeting.

2. President's Report (Appendix A)

Bill Ross reported that he had shepherded through a number of e-votes of the Board, written his final president's column for the Newsletter, signed necessary tax forms, and put together a Task Force on Meetings to propose to the Board. Tim Hughes was unanimously approved as web coordinator.

3. Secretary's Report

Because the secretary was in the midst of moving to England, no secretary's report was presented. Approval of the January Board meeting minutes was accomplished via e-vote prior to the meeting.

4. Immediate Past President/Nominating and Distinguished Service Award Committees Reports (Appendix B)

Immediate Past President and Chair of the Nominating and Distinguished Service Award Committees Aimee Felker reported that 417 ballots were mailed on February 7; completed ballots represented a 29% return rate. The results of the election were: Rutherford Witthus, President; Tara Hurt, Secretary; Bridget Carr, Representative-at-large. Felker reported that there was some negative feedback from members about the fact that members' names were printed on the back of each ballot postcard, making the ballots not confidential. She noted that Ross should keep this in mind for the next election.

Distinguished Service Award: Felker noted that award certificates are being prepared and will be ready for presentation to Sanford and Horn at tomorrow's Annual Business Meeting.

Fall Joint meeting with MARAC: Felker will be working with Ross, Ward, and Stattler to encourage NEA members to attend the meeting.

5. Outreach Committee Report (Appendix C)

Outreach Committee Co-Chair Susan von Salis reported that the "Archives on the Road" events are becoming very popular; there are currently 5 scheduled for 2002. In addition there is one Speakers' Bureau event scheduled, and the committee is working on plans for New England Archives Week to be observed this fall, in the week prior to the fall meeting. The committee also plans to improve its visibility on the NEA website. The committee asked for approval of a new member, Sue Kriegsman; the MOTION to approve made by Krizack and seconded by Stattler, passed unanimously. Susan von Salis also noted that she will be stepping down as co-chair at the end of her term in April, but that she intends to stay on as a "working member" of the committee. Jessica Steytler will become the Chair of the Outreach Committee when von Salis steps down as co-chair in April.

6. Web Committee Report (Appendix D)

Edwards reported that in addition to updating and maintaining the site, the co-webmasters updated the volunteer list and links supplied by Krizack and met with Tim Hughes, the new Web Coordinator. The Board was asked whose name to supply on the volunteer page as a contact for people who wish to volunteer to work on a committee; it was decided that the Membership Committee chair should serve this function. The Board agreed that the four Representatives-at-large should work to develop the volunteer page and will investigate adding links to vendors who support NEA from the "schedule of events" page on the meetings section of the website. The Board also agreed with the recommendation of co-webmasters Edwards and Brookes that the volunteer page not appear as a permanent link off the NEA home page, although there are many other sub-pages where such a link would make sense.

7. Print Coordinator Report (Appendix E)

Diana Yount's submitted report noted that the cost of the 2002 ballot was $96 for printing and $87.96 for postage. The spring meeting announcement was mailed to 716 recipients at a total printing and mailing cost of $917.02.

8. Treasurer's Report (Appendix F)

Treasurer Liz Andrews reported that she made 8 deposits between Jan. 1 and March 11, 2002, totaling $18,647.34. Income sources included dues, meeting and workshop fees, vendor donations. Andrews reported that the total assets of the organization stand at $69,363.09. She indicated that the books for 2001 closed with a surplus of $6,000 and that NEA received approximately $10,000 in contributions from vendors or in-kind donations. The accountant Robert Guimond completed preparing tax forms, which were filed appropriately. Andrews is in the process of moving NEA's books to Quickbook software.

9. Education Committee Report (Appendix G)

Spicher reported that two of the workshops scheduled for the spring meeting are confirmed (Caring for Historical Records and Leaky Pipes and Broken Windows), but that one (Planning for EAD in an XML World) had to be cancelled due to the illness of the instructor. The committee is investigating workshops for the fall meeting but has not yet made any decisions; an SAA workshop is a possibility. MARAC plans to hold 3 half-day workshops.

The Board had a discussion about expenses of workshops, specifically comparing audiovisual expenses and packet expenses. If an instructor prepares a packet that represents a significant additional expense (for copying), that cost is passed on in a slightly increased workshop fee; why are AV costs not similarly passed on to workshop attendees? The answer was two-part; first the request for the AV material came in too late to budget for, and secondly it was noted that a packet is a tangible tool that an attendee can bring home with them, while a video is a one-time viewing opportunity.

10. Public Relations Coordinator Report (Appendix H)

Dan McCormack was unable to attend the meeting. His written report indicated that he sent out press releases about the spring meeting, including posting it to some listservs.

11. Newsletter Editors Report (Appendix I)

The Newsletter editors reported that Joan Gearin had a discussion with Joan Krizack about possible ways to cut costs associated with the Newsletter. The editors agreed that they have very strong reservations about cutting out further portions of the Newsletter, even if they are made available on the NEA website. The Board agreed that the Newsletter is one tangible benefit of membership; most Board members feel it is important to maintain in as complete a form in its paper format as possible.

12. Membership Committee Report

Carroll-Horrocks reported that there would be a new members reception table at the registration area and that there would be a New Members table at the luncheon. Board members were asked to make their presence known to members as much as possible. Carroll-Horrocks noted that she had purchased some plexiglass document holders on behalf of the committee for signage. Edwards requested that Carroll-Horrocks send an updated committee member list to her for the website. The Board urged the committee to work hard to increase membership. It was suggested that they look over NEA's Long Range Plan, as there are many good ideas for initiatives in that document. The Board asked specifically that the membership committee send membership brochures to archival educators in New England.

13. Membership Secretary Report (Appendix J)

Richards reported that current membership stands at 520. She noted Newsletter exchanges with 4 organizations have been initiated. Richards mailed out two sets of mailing labels.

14. Haas Award Report (Appendix K)

Lois Hamill reported that 1 application for the award had been received but that the committee had not yet met to review it. Hamill requested clarification on her term and submitted a copy of the award announcement and application form. The Board responded that it was at the request of the Haas Award committee that the term of the NEA representative on the committee remain fluid, as terms on that committee change regularly (the number of NEA and ARMA members serving changes from one year to the next). The Board agreed that Joan Krizack should ask Lois Hamill to continue to serve on the committee. Board feedback on the award announcement was that prospective applicants should be able to secure the award application from either organization, not just ARMA, and that it should appear on NEA's website and in membership and some outreach committee handouts. Feedback on the application form noted that #3 has a typo (New England Archivist should be plural possessive: New England Archivists').

15. Hale Award Report

There are no applications so far this year; the Board again discussed ways to raise awareness about the award. Gurley offered to contact past recipients for either an article in the Newsletter or brief quotes to be used in other publicity about the award.

16. Archival Advocacy Award

Stattler currently has the current information on the award; he will send it to Edwards.

17. Vice President's Report (Appendix L)

Krizack reported that she has made great headway in planning for the spring 2003/30th anniversary meeting, securing funding and other support from a variety of sources. In an addendum to her report Krizack noted that the Massachusetts Historical Society will donate space and food for a reception for the 30th anniversary meeting up to $500. In addition, in a MOTION made by Felker and seconded by Krizack, Mary Caldera and Betsy Lowenstein have been added to the fall 2003 program committee. Krizack also reported that she had been working on a cost savings report on how NEA could get its budget back on track (Appendix M). However, since Andrews' report it seems that the Board need not be as alarmed about NEA's financial situation as was previously thought. Possible approaches suggested in Krizack's report included: raising dues, reducing the size of the directory, reducing the size/frequency of the Newsletter, reducing the amount of honoraria per meeting, holding meetings at non-profit sites (not hotels), cutting back on NEA activities, increasing fundraising activities, and increasing meeting costs.

In the ensuing discussion, the Board agreed to examine the ideas of: raising dues for 2004 to $25/40; take action (Carroll-Horrocks) on reducing the cost of the directory; investigate issues with the Newsletter by soliciting member feedback via a member survey; instruct the task force on meetings to visit the issue of honoraria and to keep in mind the issue of non-profit meeting sites; attempt to increase membership and fundraising; and table the issue of increasing meeting fees. The Board authorized Krizack to appoint someone to chair a committee to do a membership survey, which will include a member from each standing committee and input from the Board. There was concern that a survey focussing strictly on whether people have Internet access is insufficient. The survey should include questions that ascertain how easy it would be for members to use the Internet for NEA-related purposes, e.g. do members face restrictions on their use of the web, such as from employers, slow modem connections, or ISP rules. The report is due in spring 2003.

18. Spring 2002 Meeting Local Arrangements Committee Report (Appendix N)

Co-chair Ward reported that there were some unexpected expenses, but there was also an unexpectedly high registration rate and we expect that we will be in a good financial position when everything is tallied up.

19. Fall 2002 Program Committee Report (Appendix O)

Barbara Austen submitted an excellent draft of the program and the committee is currently finding chairs for each session.

20. Spring 2003 Program Committee Report (Appendix P)

Chair Baker reported that the committee plans to meet March 23 to continue developing sessions. von Salis agreed to inform Baker about the copyright term ending in January 2003 and to propose some sort of event to observe it.

21. Fall 2003 Meeting

The Westbrook campus of the University of New England probably does not have enough space for a meeting. Alternative sites in Maine and in Vermont will be investigated. Witthus will investigate a meeting site for the Fall 2003 meeting.

22. Development Coordinators Report (Appendix Q)

Ward reported that there will be 9 vendors at the meeting in Newport. Two vendors will have ads in the July issue of the Newsletter and Ward received an inquiry from an additional business in southeastern Massachusetts. She noted that the Local Arrangements Committee for fall 2002 has appointed a small group of people to be in charge of fund raising.

23. New Business

The Task Force on Future Meetings

President Ross proposed creating this committee to investigate issues such as: why do fewer people come to meetings; why are there so few junior archivists involved in NEA; and why does the "old guard" stop coming. The task force will be encouraged to investigate holding different types of meetings, meetings on different days of the week, etc. The composition of the committee will be Bill Ross, Chair, and the membership will be Rutherford Withus, Karen Spicher, Jane Ward, Donna Longo DiMichelle, and possibly Lois Hamill, in addition to someone from outside the Board. The task force should hold a number of meetings and report back to the Board in spring 2003.

The MOTION to appoint the task force was made by Susan von Salis, seconded by Joan Krizack and passed unanimously.

Job Descriptions for Local Arrangements and Program Committee

This order of this business was put on hold until the Task Force on Meetings creates a new meeting handbook.

24. The next Executive Board meeting will take place on June 24, 2002 at NEDCC (North Andover, MA). The time of the meeting will be posted at a later date.

25. Adjournment

On a MOTION by Joan Krizack, seconded by Rick Stattler, the meeting was adjourned at 4:15pm.