Society of Georgia Archivists
Executive Board Meeting
Jack Tarver Library, Mercer University
26 January 2007
PRESENT:
Jill Severn, Valerie Frey, Elizabeth Barr, Michael Nagy, Muriel McDowell Jackson, Sybil McNeil, Frances Overcash, Reagan Grimsley, Elizabeth Keathley, Sheila McAlister, Abby Adams, Nora Galler, Jody Lloyd Thompson, Christine de Catanzaro, Sara Saunders, Morna Gerrard, Gilbert Head, Taronda Spencer, Tamara Livingston, Elizabeth Russey
CALL TO ORDER:
President Jill Severn called the meeting to order at 10:20 am.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
The minutes had been distributed by email prior to the meeting. The Board approved the minutes unanimously.
OFFICERS' REPORTS
Treasurer:
Treasurer Elizabeth Barr was present and submitted a written report and budget figures through December 2006 and a draft 2007 budget. Barr’s report showed 2006 expenses much lower than expected. Actual expenses of $13,817 were $8,776 lower than the budgeted $22,593, primarily due to Provenance expenses less than budgeted (carryover costs from 2005 were less than budgeted, planned microfilming did not take place), newsletter went online, Gray Award expenses over-budgeted, and spring workshop and annual meeting expenses were also less than budgeted. Barr asked committee chairs to be mindful of over-budgeting. She also thanked Sybil McNeil for assistance with 2006 reconciliation, and noted two bounced checks were outstanding. Raegan Grimsley also noted $800 still to come in for Provenance will be carried over from 2006.
General discussion followed about causes and possible uses of extra funds. Frey suggested a possible increase in scholarship funding. Tamara Livingston and Christine de Catanzaro noted that workshop and meeting speaker travel/honoraria expenses were lower in 2006 because greater than usual number of local speakers. Discussion about the SAA reception expense concluded with Jill Severn recommending leaving in the budget for now with future consideration. Grimsley noted microfilming of Provenance most likely to happen in 2007.
Elizabeth Barr motioned that the 2007 draft budget be approved. Gilbert Head seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously.
Archivist:
Outgoing Archivist Michael Nagy was present and submitted a written report. Nagy reported that he did not receive any records or reference requests since the last Board meeting. He also reported that in-hand records were ready to transfer to the incoming Archivist and asked outgoing board members and committee members to also transfer their records.
Incoming Archivist Muriel McDowell Jackson was present and stated that she was ready to accept records after the meeting.
Administrative Assistant:
Outgoing Administrative Assistant Sybil McNeil and incoming Administrative Assistant Frances Overcash were present (Sybil McNeil arrived during the second half of the meeting) and Overcash submitted their joint written report. Overcash reported that current 2007 membership now stood at 124, with 12 new members. To date, 99 members had not renewed, but final notice of membership renewal was scheduled to go out next week.
PRESIDENT:
Outgoing President Valerie Frey was present and submitted a written report. Frey reported that SGA bylaws were updated, board meeting minutes added to SGA website and electronic surveys and voting implemented in 2006. Preparation of the annual meeting handbook project will continue in 2007. As Chair of the SGA Disaster Preparedness Committee, Frey reported that members intend to create a disaster preparedness guide specific to Georgia, by updating ARCHE’s Shelter from the Stormy Blast), create a “Train the Trainers” program for disaster preparedness instructors and develop an educational tabletop display. The Board extended its thanks and appreciation to Frey for her steady leadership.
Incoming President Jill Severn was present and submitted a written report. Severn reported on three major goals for 2007:
1. Greater awareness and responsiveness to member needs and interests, to be derived from results of major SGA member survey in 2006. Severn shared raw data from the survey and urged all board members to review activities in light of relevant responses to the survey. Summary survey results will be reported by the membership committee in the spring issue of the newsletter.
2. Expand collaboration with other Georgia cultural resources managers in libraries, museums and record centers. Severn recommended that the SGA newsletter editor seek columnists to update SGA members on activities from other Georgia organizations. Severn will work to establish an annual meeting with leaders of other cultural resource organizations.
3. Build relationships with future archivists. Severn recommended that the membership committee develop a liaison program with Georgia graduate and undergraduate programs in public history, library science, archival studies and museum studies. She also asked the newsletter editor and web editor to develop student-centered content in their publications and Provenance staff to work on expanding awareness among students about opportunities to publish in Provenance.
PUBLICATIONS REPORTS
Provenance:
Editor Reagan Grimsley was present and submitted a written report. Grimsley reported that Provenance 2006 was recently mailed. Grimsley stated that his goal is to have Provenance 2007 published before Christmas. Deadline for submission is July 15, 2007 – no theme for this issue.
Newsletter
Editor Elizabeth Keathley was present and gave a verbal report. Keathley reported that difficulties in formatting the newsletter layout have delayed publication of the winter issue to the SGA website. Keathley was unable to import the layout from PageMaker into PhotoShop, so she purchased a 30-day trial of PageMaker with her funds and trained herself.
Only the winter issue is a problem because the spring issue of the newsletter will be in new HTML format. Each web page of the HTML formatted issues will print out as one 8 ½ x 11 page. Keathley will scan a print copy of each page as a PDF and make the PDF version available to members as necessary and to the Archivist for preservation. Keathley made a sample HTML layout available on her laptop computer for board members to review during meeting breaks.
Discussion about the current and new newsletter formatting concluded with general agreement with Jill Severn’s statement that whoever produces the newsletter needs to keep the “SGA newsletter look and feel” (color, section layouts), but the format is not important. Archivist Micheal Nagy stated the current arrangement for the newsletter is that paper copies are stored at the Georgia Archives and PDFs will be stored at Georgia Tech, and as long as the HTML-originated issues continue to be retained in these formats, he did not see a problem. Keathley agreed to e-mail a sample HTML newsletter layout to board members for further input.
Website:
Outgoing interim Website Editor Sheila McAlister was present and gave a verbal report on the website redesign in 2006, noting major navigational improvements. She thanked Abby Adams for her help with this project.
Incoming Website Editor Abby Adams was present and submitted a written report. Adams reported that she has been contributing to the website since November. Changes included adding a search bar on each page and a featured image section to rotate monthly with images submitted by SGA members. Adams’ ongoing plans include adding more graphics on the website. A blog is in development, to be linked to the main page on the SGA website in early 2007.
Muriel McDowell Jackson inquired if there was a process for saving the website. Jill Severn asked Adams to investigate and report findings at next Board meeting. General discussion about the purpose and content of the blog followed. Should the blog be SGA focused only or have a broader outreach to include activities of other cultural organizations? Severn asked Adams to put together a blog proposal and circulate by e-mail to the Board for further consideration. Elizabeth Barr requested that the SGA budget be published on the website. Sheila McAlister recommended posting it in the SGA Board Meeting Minutes section of the website.
Listserv:
Listserv Manager Nora Galler was present and submitted a written report. Galler reported that she updated the Board-only listserv according to the current slate of officers.
Subscriptions Manager:
SSubscriptions Manager Jody Thompson was present and submitted a written report. Thompson reported that there were few claims in 2006, thanks to Reagan Grimsley’s efforts with publication of Provenance. There were 64 subscribers to Provenance in 2006. The newsletter (in PDF format) will be added to Georgia Tech’s dark archives in 2007.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Archives Week Liason:
Outgoing Archives Week Co-Chairs Christine de Catanzaro and Sheila McAlister were both present and submitted a joint written report. They reported that a new activity this year was a display at the InfoExpo at SAA Annual Meeting in August. The SGA website listed 37 Archives Week events across the state. Good budget support in 2006, and expect level of support to continue - several organizations have already expressed interest. The co-chairs thanked all who served on the 2006 committee.
Incoming Archives Week Co-Chair Sara Saunders was present and submitted a written report. Saunders thanked the 2005 co-chairs for compiling an excellent procedural manual. She reported that the 2007 committee will most likely extend Georgia Archives Week into Georgia Archives Month. Saunders and Co-Chair Sallie Loy will begin collecting suggestions for themes and plan first committee meeting for February.
Education Committee:
Education Committee Chair Christine de Catanzaro was present and submitted a written report. De Catanzaro reported two very successful workshops in 2006: Spring Workshop (DACS) and Pre-Conference Workshop (Oral History). Goals for 2007, in response to points expressed in 2006 Member Survey, include working toward holding more workshops per year in different parts of the state, but concerns about keeping within budget and balancing needs of the membership. De Catanzaro reported in writing that she was awaiting confirmation from Teresa Kemp and Alan King to serve as Education Committee members. Teresa Kemp has since confirmed.
Elizabeth Russey urged planning more workshops since SGA is under budget. Discussion followed, generally expressing support for expansion. Jill Severn cautioned the need to consider the personnel resources of the Education Committee, but agreed that we need to consider larger expenditures and look into sharing resources with other organizations.
Membership:
Outgoing Membership Committee Chair Jill Severn was present and submitted a written report. The 2006 Member Survey using online tool Survey Monkey was very successful and the committee was pleased with the response: approximately 187 members received the survey, with approximately 101 responses.
Incoming 2007 Membership Committee Chair Morna Gerrard was present and submitted a written report. Gerrard reported that the Membership Committee will author a summary report of the 2006 survey findings and submit it for publication in the Spring 2007 newsletter. The committee will also consider possible reprint of the membership brochure and develop a survey of past members to determine why they are no longer members and what would encourage them to join. The subcommittee will continue to explore migration of the SGA directory from PDF to HTML-based format.
Scholarship:
Outgoing Scholarship Committee Chair Gilbert Head was present and submitted a written report. Head thanked the committee members for their time and talent. He reported the 2006 Annual Auction raised $1,160, and the committee worked toward revision of the Scholarship Application and Scholarship Assessment Tool. Head also reported that the committee recognized a need to better publicize SGA awards to increase the applicant pool, keeping in mind applicants must be SGA members. Jill Severn asked Head to continue raising the issue in 2007. Sara Saunders asked about opening up scholarships to non-SGA members. Head responded that the applicant requirements are set by the scholarship donors. Changing the requirements would need discussion with the donors; the Board cannot make that decision.
Incoming Scholarship Committee Chair Luciana Spracher was not present because she recently had a baby, but she submitted a written report which was presented by Gilbert Head. Spracher thanked those serving on the committee in 2007. The committee completed revision of the Scholarship Application and Scholarship Assessment Tool in time for the first scholarship to be publicized in February 1, 2007. The SGA website’s scholarship information pages were updated. Spracher also reported 2007 goals to improve promotion and publicity of scholarships and to continue the Annual Scholarship Auction led by Gilbert Head.
Christine de Catanzaro commented that one point from the 2006 survey was scholarships for workshop attendees and suggested that the Education and Scholarship Committees work together on this issue. Jill Severn asked the Scholarship and Education Committees to discuss workshop scholarships and come up with a proposal to present at the next Board meeting.
Nominating:
Outgoing Nominating Committee Chair Sheila McAlister was present and gave a verbal report that the nomination process went smoothly. Incoming Nominating Committee Chair Valerie Frey was present but did not have a report at this time.
2006 Annual Meeting:
Second Year Director Taronda Spencer was present and submitted a written report. As Local Arrangements Committee Chair, Spencer noted that Spelman College did not charge facility fees. She reported that vendor exhibit participation dropped to four vendors, but vendor sponsorships covered a substantial portion of the catering costs. Spencer also reported hotel booking difficulties due to the Board’s decision based on prior Atlanta meetings to not sign a housing contract to reserve a block of rooms since most attendees did not stay in hotels. She recommended that the Board revisit its policy on accommodation contracts for the years when the annual meeting was held in Atlanta. Spencer thanked the 2006 Board for their assistance, especially Tamara Livingston.
First Year Director Tamara Livingston was present and submitted a written report as 2006 Program Committee Chair. Because the meeting was hosted by the home institution of the Second Year Director, the roles of the directors were reversed with the First Year Director in charge of the program committee. Livingston reported that the attendee evaluations overall reported a very good experience: 3 of the 8 sessions were ranked as outstanding, the facility was considered good by 65% of attendees, and 73% thought the reception was outstanding.
2007 Annual Meeting:
Second Year Director Tamara Livingston was present and submitted a written report. First Year Director Elizabeth Russey was present but did not a report at this time.
As 2007 Arrangements Committee Chair, Livingston reported that because the annual meeting site is Columbus, where Reagan Grimsley is on-site, he has volunteered to assist with hotel and reception site negotiation. Grimsley said the room cost will be approximately $120. He also suggested establishing a traveling fund and recommended that SGA, as a professional organization, commit funds to reserve a block of rooms. Jill Severn asked for a preliminary budget by the next Board meeting and suggested circulating it to Board members beforehand if needed. Livingston said she is also soliciting possible volunteers to help with planning.
OLD BUSINESS:
Online Directory
Jill Severn reported that moving the online directory from PDF to HTML format is an ongoing goal. Sheila McAlister and Frances Overcash are currently working with the database. McAlister recommended considering a Web-based membership database. After general discussion, it was decided that the Membership Committee will form a subcommittee to move forward with this project. Sheila McAlister and Abby Adams volunteered to join.
SGA Minutes/Handbook/By-Law Reconciliation Project
Sheila McAlister had no new business to report.
SGA Disaster Preparedness Committee
Valerie Frey reported that the committee plans to create a table-top educational display, but the main project is updating the publication Shelter from the Stormy Blast: A Guide to Disaster Recovery Resources for Georgia and the Southeast (1999). All copyright permissions were secured in November 2006. The goal is to finish the new edition by the end of 2007. The vendors list will be dropped from the new edition because it is maintained on the SOLINET website. Publication format will be PDF, Web-based or both, and the publication may move to the SGA website because it is currently buried on the ARCHE website. Frey suggested for future consideration that the outgoing SGA president take on the responsibility of updating the publication annually. Sheila McAlister suggested a publication launch date of May Day (May 1) to tie in with other disaster preparedness awareness activities.
Approval of New Officers and Committee Chairs
Jill Severn reported the new officers and committee chairs approved by e-mail were Linda Davis as Provenance associate editor, Randall Gooden as Provenance book review editor, Christine de Catanzaro as Education Committee chair, Sara Saunders as Georgia Archives Week liaison, Luciana Spracher as Scholarship Committee chair, and Frances Overcash as administrative assistant.
Reagan Grimsley proposed a motion to officially reappoint Nancy Davis to the Provenance Board of Editors. Gilbert Head seconded the motion and the Board unanimously approved the appointment of Nancy Davis Bray to the Provenance Board of Editors for a three-year term (2007-2009).
NEW BUSINESS:
Approval of Committee Members
The Board unanimously approved the appointments of members of the Education, Membership, Scholarship, Program and Local Arrangement Committees, as listed by the committee chairs in their written reports. The Board also unanimously approved the appointment of Renna Tuten as assistant newsletter editor and Aimee Morgan as administrative assistant intern.
Board Status for Disaster Preparedness Representative
Jill Severn suggested that the representative could have liaison status like the Georgia Archives Week. Valerie Frey said it may be too soon to consider this appointment. After general discussion, the Board decided to table for now. Frey will continue discussion with the Disaster Preparedness Committee.
Georgia Archives Week Promotion
Sara Saunders requested funds for promotion of Georgia Archives Week. Elizabeth Russey proposed a motion that $500 be given to promote Georgia Archives Week. Gilbert Head seconded the motion, and the Board passed it unanimously.
Software to Support Newsletter Publication
Jill Severn and Elizabeth Keathley led a general discussion about whether SGA should purchase software for publication of the newsletter or continue to rely on the newsletter editor to have appropriate software at home or work. Keathley recapped problems with layout of current issue and her purchase of a trial version of PageMaker software. She felt SGA should make software available to newsletter editors if needed. She recommended future editors use Microsoft Publisher as it is standard on Georgia state desktops and more cost-effective. Elizabeth Russey said a requirement for newsletter editor should be to have the resources to do the job before taking on the position. Tamara Livingston felt SGA should provide resources for the editor since it is a volunteer position. Several members expressed concern with how fast software is outdated and expense for SGA to keep current. Several members supported providing resources to the newsletter editor as needed since it was a volunteer position. No agreement was reached and issue was tabled for future consideration.
Jill Severn, Elizabeth Keathley and Sheila McAllister also raised the issue of how much the format of the newsletter layout could change as it transitioned from different software. Sara Saunders said we need to keep some elements, such as the “SGA look,” since we spent a lot of time in the past setting standards such as the color blue and section layout. Keathley said it was mainly the font and columns that were causing trouble with the winter issue. General discussion followed and concluded that it was important that the newsletter print easily, archive, and is accessible online, but font and column spacing could change as long as the overall look of the newsletter was preserved. Severn asked Keathley to develop a proposal for change and share with the Board members. Keathley said she would e-mail a dummy HTML version of the newsletter to Board members for comments.
Elizabeth Barr proposed a motion that Elizabeth Keathley be reimbursed for the $150 she spent on PageMaker trial software to create the Winter 2007 newsletter issue. Gilbert Head seconded the motion. Jill Severn put the motion to a vote and it passed with a majority in favor.
Provenance and EBSCO
Reagan Grimsley reported that Provenance was indexed until 1993 in ABC-CLIO’s American History and Life, but is no longer deemed an appropriate fit for that database. Grimsley recommended adding Provenance to EBSCO’s LISTA database in order to expand to the academic community, encourage more article submissions, and increase the way Provenance is used for ACA certified archivist exam preparation. Grimsley noted several small/local journals like Provenance have recently folded, and we need to adapt to maintain and increase our standing. Greimsley reported no cost to SGA to join, EBSCO will scan and make available five years full-text, and SGA will get 20% of the revenue EBSCO collects.
General discussion followed. Jody Lloyd Thompson said this proposal could lead to fewer subscriptions, but other publications like ours are doing it. Grimsley suggested perhaps putting an embargo on 1-2 years of the full-text. Several members approved of a one-year embargo. Thompson noted that the shelf life for each journal issue basically ends when a new issue comes out. Michael Nagy asked how dependent are we on library subscriptions, and Thompson stated 62 libraries currently subscribe. Sheila McAlister asked about expanding full-text availability beyond five years, but Grimsley said we would not be able to do that for free. Jill Severn asked about copyright, and Grimsley stated that we retain copyright. McAlister asked if there were possible author participation concerns, and Grimsley said it could be an issue, but if an author requests, Ebsco will just remove the pertinent article. Grimsley also noted the need to review article submission guidelines if we proceed.
Grimsley raised a motion to authorize going into negotiations with EBSCO for indexing and full-text scanning of the past five years of Provenance with a one year embargo. Gilbert Head seconded the motion, and the Board passed it unanimously.
Jody Lloyd Thompson will research the date of title change for Provenance and its ISSN status and report back to the Board.
2007 Board Meetings
The Board unanimously agreed to continue meeting at the Mercer University Library during 2007. The dates of the remaining 2007 Board meetings were set: April 27, July 27 and November 7.
Membership Survey
General discussion led by Jill Severn regarding the 2006 member survey findings. Severn noted one surprise was that responses were dominated by larger institutions, not smaller ones as expected. Severn also noted that overall membership is pleased with services, but we can improve. She said good information was gathered regarding workshops, including some feelings expressed that activities are very north-Georgia centered. Elizabeth Russey said almost three-fourths of SGA members belong to SAA, so we need to be careful not to duplicate SAA workshops. She liked the practicality of SGA meeting sessions, rather than just paper readings. Severn noted that SGA conferences can serve as training ground for those going on to present papers at SAA and we need a balance. Sheila McAlister suggested looking at setting up the conference with more opportunity for discussions or break-out sessions – or holding the annual meeting plus some type of discussion group in the Spring. Reagan Grimsley stated he preferred one event a year, but we could do tracks (for theory, practice, etc.) at the annual conference and market that. Agreement from several members. Jill Severn stated the decision rests with the Program Committee.
Christine de Catanzaro suggested addressing travel fund awards since responses to Question 36 of the member survey showed that more than half of the members get less than $500 per annum for travel expenses. Reagan Grimsley commented responses might reflect the trend in larger institutions of tightening travel budgets. Michael Nagy noted that the survey shows the vast majority feel SGA costs are good. Jill Severn said one way to subsidize travel expenses is to reduce the cost of registration. Discussion ended with general agreement that decisions could not be made based on survey results until more analysis was available after the Membership Committee created the executive summary.
Elizabeth Barr commented that there was almost $27,000 in the checking account and perhaps more money could be put into education funds. Reagan Grimsley proposed adding to the scholarship funds. Barr said we could put enough into each scholarship fund to get it up to $5,000 to improve interest rate. Valerie Frey suggesting putting the money into 6-month CD to earn interest until issued to recipient.
Jill Severns asked Board members and committees to revisit their budgets and send revised budgets by e-mail to the Board for review.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Elizabeth Barr reminded the Board that the application deadline for Circuit Rider Archivist consultation visits is March 1, 2007. Visits to the selected archives will take place from July to December.
Muriel McDowell Jackson suggested that the Circuit Rider Archivist could distribute SGA brochures as a follow-up resource for small archives. Jill Severn said we need to rethink the brochure if we are expanding our outreach. Elizabeth Barr noted that reprinting membership brochures will need to be added to the budget and we need to revisit that expense if the brochure needs to be redesigned. Jill Severn said the brochure was last revised in 2001. Valerie Frey recommended redesign because the brochure was originally designed for mailing and its face does not grab attention in a kiosk. Jill Severn has the brochure file and will transfer it to Morna Gerrard.
ADJOURNMENT:
There being no other business, Muriel McDowell Jackson moved to adjourn at approximately 2:15 pm. Gilbert Head seconded the motion, and the meeting was adjourned.
