Council Minutes
June 14, 1996
President Brenda
Banks convened the meeting at 8:30 a.m., Friday, June 14, 1996. Present besides
Banks were: Vice President Nicholas Burckel, Treasurer Leon Stout, and Council
members Karen Benedict, Bruce Bruemmer, Susan Davis, Timothy Ericson, Steven
Hensen, Thomas Hickerson, Sharon Thibodeau, Sharron Uhler. Council member Lori
Hefner was absent due to illness. Also present were incoming Council member
Valerie Browne, Executive Director Susan Fox and Assistant Executive Director
Debra Mills. Education Director Joan Sander participated in portions of the
meeting.
Motion
to Adopt the Agenda
Ericson moved
and Davis seconded the motion to adopt the agenda as amended. PASSED.
Motion
to Approve the Minutes of the Previous Meeting
Burckel moved
and Davis seconded the motion to adopt the minutes as amended. PASSED.
Report
of the Executive Committee
Ericson reported
that the Executive Committee devoted most of its meeting to discussion and review
of the Council meeting agenda. The Executive Committee also discussed SAA annual
personnel review.
Report
of the President
Banks gave a
brief report on an open hearing conducted by the Moynihan Commission on Secrecy
in Government. Susan Fox represented SAA at the hearing, which discussed declassification
issues in U.S. government documentation.
Report
of the Vice President
Burckel distributed
a list of recommended appointments from the Appointments Committee. He requested
Council response to the proposed appointments.
Report
of the Treasurer
Stout reviewed
FY96 income and expense as of April 30. He noted a projected net gain of approximately
$56,000, a significant improvement over FY95. Income and expense projections
for FY97 were not as optimistic, however, with a projected deficit of approximately
$38,000, due to expected decrease in annual meeting revenues (decreased attendance)
and a continued decline in publication sales (market saturation). On the other
hand, FY98 was expected to bring an upturn in annual meeting revenues due to
projected high attendance for the Chicago annual meeting.
Stout said he
would be recommending that Council approve a FY97 budget which would pre-pay
expenses in FY96 in order to cover the expected deficit. He said he would also
be recommending that the Society make an approximate $16,000 contribution to
the reserve fund, thereby increasing reserves to approximately 3.5 months of
operating expenses.
After summarizing
the principles of accrual accounting, Stout reviewed the proposed FY97 budget.
He concluded by introducing a Special Fund Definition form which would clearly
identify the purpose, scope, and restrictions on SAA special fund accounts.
Stout concluded
a review of a proposal to upgrade of SAA's E-mail capacity and to administer
the Web Page from Chicago rather than from the SAA student chapter in Austin,
Texas. He said this upgrade and web page capacity would cost the society approximately
$12,000 to implement.
Burckel requested
that Stout and Fox work together to produce a five-year budget projection of
SAA's technological needs. They agreed to do so.
Stout then moved
that Council allocate a transfer of up to $12,000 from the Education, Equipment,
and Norton Funds to accommodate the cost of upgrading E-mail and the Web Page
in the Chicago office. Ericson seconded. PASSED.
Report
of the Executive Director
Education Office
Fox reported
that in May the search for a new education director concluded with the hiring
of Joan Sander. She said Sander has a strong professional background in continuing
education and would bring great talent to the position. She noted that Sander
would be joining the Council meeting later in the afternoon and would give a
brief report on her goals for the program.
Fox gave brief
updates on the NHPRC Case Study, Descriptive Curricula and Council of Library
Resources SGML grants, saying all were proceeding well.
Publications
Fox gave a brief
report on non-serial publications. She said that the Library of Congress had
approached SAA to publish APPM in a CD-ROM compilation. The LC also wanted to
make APPM available free through its web site, however, which raised some concern.
She said that if inclusion of APPM on CD-ROM also resulted in Web publication,
she would have to rethink the agreement. Hickerson cautioned that she should
not dismiss electronic web publishing out of hand, but should consider offering
SAA publications for a significant licensing fee. She agreed that this venue
of publication could be both productive and lucrative, and one that she would
explore with great interest. In this particular case, however, LC was reluctant
to offer more than nominal compensation.
Membership/Annual
Meeting
Thibodeau moved
and Ericson seconded the motion to accept Debra Mills recommendation that SAA
hold the 2000 annual meeting in Denver. PASSED.
Mills reported
a downward trend in membership figures. Council requested that Mills investigate
allied associations to see if they are experiencing similar trends.
Mills requested
that Council relay their gratitude to Dennis Harrison for organizing the newly
created Key Contacts Program. She said this program will create a grassroots
approach to recruitment by having members in each state welcome new and renewing
members into the Society. Davis asked that Council receive a list of the key
contacts in order to be supportive of members paticipating in the program in
their home states.
Stout asked Mills
what she would do if a higher membership development budget were possible. She
said her top priority would be to conduct a membership survey to gather demographics
on SAA membership and to learn more about their needs. She said this would enable
SAA to become a more responsive professional association and enable the Society
to gear services toward specified needs.
In concluding,
Mills said that she expected to publish a new membership application soon, as
she expected to have results from the salary survey by February 1997.
New SAA Logo
Fox introduced
a suggested new logo for the Society. Burckel said he thought it would be important
to solicit from membership the idea that we are in the process of developing
a new image, invite response on the elements members would like to see suggested
(dynamism, movement, etc.), report back to membership the comments received,
and then offer two suggested options.
Davis noted that
the Society doesn't ask the membership to become involved with making significant
decisions such as where to hold annual meetings. She said she didn't think a
new logo should be put to membership vote.
Banks said that
the process Burckel suggested was not intended to be a membership vote per se
but a way of eliciting consensus to change.
Proposed Policies
Fox introduced
three proposed policies for Council consideration and approval. The Annual Meeting
Taping Policy explained criteria for which sessions would be taped and placed
responsibility for making the decision with the executive director in consultation
with the Program Committee. A Liquor Liability Policy prohibited consumption
of alcoholic beverages at SAA group functions unless provided by a contracted
facility or caterer with liquor liability insurance. And a revised Fundraising
Policy clarifying the need to obtain Executive Committee authorization before
engaging in fundraising activities.
Stout moved and
Bruemmer seconded the motion to approve the policies as amended. PASSED.
Council
Committee on Committees
Benedict introduced
a report and recommendation to Council from the Public Information Committee
(PIC). The report outlined PIC's experience with PROFNET, an on-line service
linking journalists with knowledgeable sources. PIC described the results of
a 30-day trial with the service and recommended that SAA continue the subscription
with criteria for responding to inquiries developed by the committee in conjunction
with the Executive Director.
Benedict moved
and Bruemmer seconded the motion that the Public Information Committee retain
membership in PROFNET, an on-line public relations wire, on a trial basis for
one year. PASSED.
Hensen reported
that the Committee on Education and Professional Development completed its draft
Guidelines for the Development of Post-Appointment and Continuing Education
and Training (PACE) Programs, which are now under review by the Standards Board.
Hensen further
reported that the Committee on Archival Information Exchange had a very full
agenda and was working hard to accommodate all the demands placed upon it.
Committee
on Sections and Roundtables
Hickerson gave
a brief report summarizing ongoing activities, noting that this was a particularly
quiet period.
Committee
on Task Forces, Board and Representatives
Task Force on
Organizational Effectiveness
Davis described
TFOE's progress to date and the involvement of the Committee on Goals and Priorities.
She said, however, that discussions had taken place predominantly through E-Mail
and that the task force would hold a face-to-face meeting immediately following
Council. She described the discussions of the two task force subcommittees,
one on redrafting the constitution and by-laws and one on redrafting unit definitions.
Council reviewed and commented on the guidelines to inform TFOE discussion.
Council recessed
at 12:00 p.m. and reconvened at 1:25 p.m. at which time it resumed discussion
of the TFOE documents.
Bruemmer presented
an update on the Task Force on the American Archivist, which he said
was proceeding well via E-Mail and would convene a face-to-face meeting in late
July. Burckel noted the need for specificity from the task force when making
recommendations for how to improve the journal.
Ericson reported
that the Standards Board approved the Art and Architecture Thesaurus (AAT) as
a descriptive standard for the profession. He moved and Burckel seconded the
motion that Council adopt the AAT.
Hickerson said
he saw a need to specify the employment of the AAT, i.e. in what manner. His
sense was that to be able to use the guideline an archivist would need to have
some sense of what the guideline is for, where it is to be employed to be a
viable entity.
Davis offered
an amendment to base Council approval contingent upon the development by the
Standards Board of a preamble clarifying the application of the guidelines.
PASSED.
Bruemmer introduced
a Publications Board resolution requesting that membership be increased from
six to nine members in order to accommodate its portfolio system of operation.
He then moved
to change the size of the Publications Board from six to nine members, to change
the annual appointments to the Board from two to three, and to direct the Executive
Director to alter the Board's guidelines accordingly. Ericson seconded. PASSED.
Bruemmer then
moved and Stout seconded the motion to reappoint Larry McCrank and Vicki Walch
to another term on the American Archivist Editorial Board. PASSED.
Benedict reported
on progress to date for the Task Force on Intellectual Property Strategies and
said the group would meet to develop an SAA position paper in early August.
Bruemmer commended
the Joint SAA-ARMA Committee for their active work promoting collaboration between
the two organizations. He asked Mills to explore the possibility of holding
a joint annual meeting.
Report from other
Organizations
Fox gave a brief
report on activities within the Coalition for Networked Information (CNI) and
the National Initiative for a Networked Cultural Heritage (NINCH).
Burckel reported
on his efforts to obtain a meeting with Elizabeth Martinez, Executive Director
of the American Library Association (ALA). He said that he was concerned that
issues of archivists and SAA members are also issues that ALA is dealing with,
such as monitoring legislation. He thought SAA ought to consider a strategic
alliance with ALA, especially with its Washington office. He said he envisioned
a scenario where some of the Washington office services could be provided to
SAA on a coalition or contractual basis with ALA. We need to promote our point
of view in concert with other organizations in order to make it more effective.
Fox reported
on her contact with Phyllis Franklin, Executive Director of the Modern Language
Association (MLA) expressing SAA's desire to participate in discussions regarding
their task force on the significance of primary records. Franklin was open to
SAA's participation and said the task force would be meeting during the American
Council of Learned Society annual meeting and she would get back to Fox soon
thereafter.
Fox presented
to Council a letter from the Music Library Association (MLA) requesting that
they be allowed to appoint a representative to SAA. Fox noted that the MLA also
recognizes the value of acting in coalitions and support their effort to increase
communication between the two organizations.
Fox also recommended
that SAA join the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) Association
Alliance, which is taking on the cause of protecting associations from undue
regulation by Congress. A number of bills unfavorable to nonprofits had been
introduced in Congress and the Alliance was providing an effective voice for
associations.
Old Business
Fox reported
on the status of the declassification position paper originally under development
with Priscilla McMillan. McMillan graciously developed preliminary drafts of
the paper, but had to decline further involvement due to the demands of a book
in progress. Fox said she would pursue alternative volunteers to help develop
the paper.
Review of Unit
Requests and Adoption of the FY97 Budget
Ericson recommended
that the Society allocate a fixed amount of funds to support SAA representation
activities, then send all representatives a letter notifying them that reimbursement
will not follow until the Chicago office and the Council liaison receives a
report. Ericson said he would draft procedures.
Hickerson moved
and Stout seconded the motion that FOX go back to units with requests for directory
funding to further clarify their needs and to authorized the Executive Committee
to make the final decision. PASSED.
Hensen moved
and Burckel seconded the motion to approve the FY97 budget. PASSED.
Hickerson moved
and Uhler seconded the motion to raise the amount of the minority student award
to $750 with discretion of how the award will be used left to the authority
of the Archivists and Archives of Color Roundtable.
Council elected
by lot Sharon Thibodeau and Steven Hensen to serve on the Nominating Committee.
Stout reviewed
the To Do list.
Ericson moved
and Stout seconded the motion to adjourn at 4:20 pm. PASSED.
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