Council Minutes
Society of American Archivists
Council Conference Call Minutes
March 8, 2007
The SAA Council met via conference call on Thursday, March 8, 2007, from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm Central Time. Attending: SAA President Elizabeth Adkins; Vice President/President-Elect Mark Greene; Treasurer Ann Russell; Executive Committee Member Peter Gottlieb; Council members Mark Duffy, Aimee Felker, Rebecca Hankins, Leon Miller (for a portion of the call), Ben Primer, Carla Summers, and Sheryl Williams; and staff members Nancy Beaumont, Teresa Brinati, Solveig De Sutter, Brian Doyle, and Tom Jurczak. Council member Nancy Zimmelman was not able to participate.
I. COUNCIL BUSINESS
Adoption of the Agenda
Williams moved and Russell seconded adoption of the agenda as written. PASSED.
II. ACTION / DISCUSSION ITEMS
A. Section/Roundtable Policies and Procedures
Council members reviewed additional revisions (per the January 30 conference call discussion) to the working document originally created by the Task Force on Sections and Roundtables. The group agreed that, additionally, the executive director would refer to the Executive Committee any requests from roundtables for dedicated space at the Annual Meeting. No additional changes were made.
MOTION 1
THAT the specific recommendations of the Task Force on Sections and Roundtables be adopted as amended to take effect at the close of the 2007 Annual Meeting.
Moved by Duffy, seconded by Felker. PASSED (unanimously, with Miller absent for this vote).
MOTION 2
THAT by the close of the 2007 Annual Meeting, sections and roundtables be informed of changes in policy and practice and asked to comply with all new requirements as adopted by the Council in the Task Force recommendations, and that the Council show lenience in this first year of implementation with respect to new reporting deadlines and threshold membership numbers.
Moved by Duffy, seconded by Felker. PASSED (unanimously, with Miller absent for this vote).
MOTION 3
THAT the SAA staff revise, in consultation when appropriate with section and roundtable officers, those parts of official documents affected by the approved Task Force recommendations, with particular reference to the following items:
- Council Handbook, Section IX. Sections and section X. Roundtables;
- Council Handbook, Appendix B: Selected List of Current SAA Policies and Procedures: Guidelines for SAA Web sites (June 1997); SAA Policy on Unit Directories (August 1996); Guidelines for the Establishment of Listservs by Organizational Units (June 1995); Policies Regarding Function Space and Staff Support for Groups that meet at the SAA Annual Meeting (January 1992); and
- Website documents “Description of Sections” and “Description of Roundtables” and “Frequently Asked Questions About Sections and Roundtables”; and
- THAT this revision be completed and submitted to the Executive Committee for review before presentation to the June 2007 meeting of the Council.
Moved by Duffy, seconded by Felker. PASSED (unanimously, with Miller not on call).
B. Archives and Archivists List Archives Task Force Report
MOTION 4*
THAT the Archives and Archivists List Archives that has been maintained at Miami University of Ohio, representing material created from 1993 to 2006, be disposed.
Support Statement: The SAA Council has determined that the cost of retaining, administering, and maintaining access to the 1993-2006 archives of the A&A List is substantially higher than is warranted by the evidential or informational value of the archives. Further, there are significant legal and administrative impediments to transferring the archives to another institution for preservation and access. Thus the Council has determined that the archives will be disposed of at the end of March 2007 when Miami University of Ohio is no longer able to support it.
Moved by Felker, seconded by Williams. PASSED (with Hankins abstaining and Miller absent for this vote).
C. Meissner Recognition
Council members discussed the outstanding performance of Dennis Meissner on behalf of SAA in light of his “retirement” as chair of the Publications Board. They agreed to consider conferring upon him a special Council resolution, which would be circulated and voted on via online procedures.
III. REPORTS
A. President’s Update
Adkins provided a brief summary of recent activities, with particular emphasis on advocacy and public awareness. In addition, she noted that she had kept Council apprised of Executive Committee discussions and actions via email updates.
B. Task Force Updates
Council members received brief status reports on the activities of the following task forces: Technology Best Practices, Diversity Brochure, American Archives Month, Joint Advocacy Task Force on PAHR, Trusted Archival Preservation Repository, and Online Balloting.
IV. COUNCIL BUSINESS
Greene moved and Williams seconded adjournment of the conference call. PASSED. The call was adjourned at 12:57 pm.
*This action was rescinded by the SAA Council on March 26. The A&A List archives (1993-2006) will be retained and housed at a repository to be determined.
Approved by the SAA Council on June 4, 2007.
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