A regular meeting of the Board of Directors of the Capital Area Archivists was held on Wednesday, July 19, 2006 at Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream in Albany, New York.
Board members present: Craig Carlson, Susan D’Entremont, John Diefenderfer, Rachel Donaldson, Brian Keough, Michael Martin, Sean Heather McGraw, Rebecca Rich-Wulfmeyer, Amy Rupert, Amy Schindler, Bonnie Weddle and Geoff Williams.
John Diefenderfer, President, called the meeting to order at 4:45 pm.
I. Approval of Minutes of March 14, 2006 Meeting
Minutes were approved.
II. Capital Region Archives Dinner
Bonnie Weddle reported that this year’s Archives Dinner will be on October 4, 2006 at the Governor’s Mansion in Albany. The Dinner Committee will have a better idea of the cost once they meet with the Mansion’s chef in August. Last year CAA donated $200 to support the dinner. The Dinner Committee may ask for CAA’s support again. The Board agreed that the dinner is a worthy candidate for CAA’s support and that a vote could be done by email another donation be requested.
III. CAA/SUNY Mixer at SAA Annual Meeting
Phil Eppard of SUNY contacted John Diefenderfer to tell him that booking a meeting space with food at the conference hotel would cost $1,300, so he is looking into other options. The mixer is tentatively planned for Thursday, August 3. The Board voted to co-sponsor the mixer and donate up to $100 to defray the costs.
IV Institutional Membership
The issue of institutional membership arose recently when Bonnie Weddle received a check for $50 from EBSCO. She contacted them, and they told her they had been sending $50 a year for institutional membership. (The whereabouts of the checks from previous years is unknown.)
Board discussed whether to have institutional membership, and the price of that membership. Amy Schindler suggested a membership of $25, which would include admission for two people to any CAA program and recognition in the newsletter. Geoff Williams asked about the purpose of institutional membership and whether CAA needs additional revenue. Bonnie Weddle noted that, according to the constitution, any change in membership structure does not require a change in the by-laws.
Several people suggested recognizing all new members, institutional and individual, in the newsletter. The issue of institutional members using the mailing list was addressed. It was suggested that the by-laws be amended to state that the mailing list should only be used by non-profit organizations. It was suggested that members could place ads in the CAA newsletter. This brought up the question of the difference between members and sponsors.
The issue was tabled until the next meeting. Amy Schindler and John Diefenderfer will research what other similar organizations do. Rachel Donaldson will look into what other groups charge for ads in their newsletters.
V. Job Postings
John had received a request for posting a job. The Board agreed that jobs could be posted to the CAA listserv. Susan D’Entremont suggested that job postings also be forwarded to CDLC for its job site, which is updated several times a week.
VI. Meeting Dates/Times/Locations
Some Board members have difficulty getting to meetings at 4:30. Several expressed a preference for meetings that start at 5:15 or 5:30. Most other members have flexible schedules, so the later start time will be tried for the next meeting.
VII. Other
Rachel Donaldson reminded people to send her items for the CAA newsletter.
Geoff Williams stated that there will likely be a campaign to push for additional funding for archives during the next session of the state legislature. A discussion followed on what CAA could do to advance this initiative. John Diefenderfer suggested that CAA develop talking points once legislation is introduced. Brian Keough suggested setting up a CAA lobby day in the future. Geoff Williams indicated that the Regents themselves need to be targeted since their support would greatly increase the chances of such legislation passing.
Susan D’Entremont asked Sean McGraw and Craig Carlson to consider leading an informal program on encouraging the use of archival materials by K-12 teachers. Geoff Williams suggested a program for archivists on how teachers actually use documents in the classroom. Rebecca Rich-Wulfmeyer noted that Erica Sanger, the education director at the Albany Institute of History and Art, has done a project with Livingston Middle School students. The student visits included an art project, an activity using documents from the collection, and an activity in the gallery. Rebecca suggested that Ms. Sanger might be a good person for CAA to contact on this issue.
Bonnie Weddle announced that Kathleen Roe has been promoted to Director of Operations for the New York State Archives.
The meeting was adjourned at 5:45 pm.
Respectfully Submitted,
Susan D’Entremont