Council Minutes
August 3-7, 2004
Boston, Massachusetts
President Tim Ericson called the meeting to order at 9:00 am on Tuesday, August
3. Present: Vice President/President-Elect Rand Jimerson, Treasurer Fynnette
Eaton, and Council members Danna Bell-Russel, Frank Boles, Elaine Engst, David
Haury, Kathryn Neal, Megan Sniffin-Marinoff, Christopher Ann Paton, Peter Wosh,
and Joel Wurl. Also present were incoming Council members Richard Pearce-Moses
(Vice President/President-Elect, 2004-2005), Mark Duffy, Aimee Felker, and
Peter Gottlieb, SAA Executive Director Nancy Beaumont, Publishing Director
Teresa Brinati,
and Education Director Solveig DeSutter.
ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA
Sniffin-Marinoff presented proposed changes in the
agenda, as well as estimated times for completion of each agenda item, per
an Executive Committee discussion
on August 2. Jimerson moved and Bell-Russel seconded adoption of the agenda
as amended. PASSED.
APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES
Engst moved and Sniffin-Marinoff seconded approval
of the June 4-6, 2004, Council
meeting minutes as amended. PASSED.
REVIEW OF THE JUNE 2004 ACTION ITEM LIST
Council members reviewed the items
listed on the June 2004 Action Item List and provided an update on completed
and incomplete items.
CONVERSATION WITH
BRUCE CRAIG OF THE NATIONAL COALITION FOR HISTORY
Bruce Craig, executive director
of the National Coalition for History, provided Council with a brief update
via telephone on various advocacy efforts. He reviewed
the status of the nomination of Allen Weinstein to become Archivist of the
United States, noting that no action would be taken during the Senate recess.
Craig had met recently with Senate staff to discuss funding for the National
Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) and had learned that
maintenance of existing funding levels would be a “hard sell” on
the Senate side. He urged that SAA inform its members of the situation and
suggest that they contact Senate Committee members in favor of funding at not
less than $8 million (which is less than full funding at $10 million, but more
likely to occur).
REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Sniffin-Marinoff reported that Ericson had
sent a letter to the Washington Post regarding the matter of former National
Security Advisor Sandy Berger
allegedly removing items from the National Archives and the fact that the Weinstein
hearing had not been covered in the Post. Ericson suggested that SAA post on
its Web site letters to the editor—whether or not they are eventually
published—so that Web site visitors know that SAA has engaged the media
on an issue.
Wurl noted that he had distributed via email his list of Council
liaison appointments to committees, task forces, sections, and roundtables.
(As the elected member
of the Executive Committee, Wurl was responsible for naming liaisons to various
groups.) In addition, he had circulated a document developed by Pearce-Moses
on the responsibility of liaisons. Council members then addressed the difficulty
of serving as liaison to more than one roundtable when so many of the roundtable
meetings conflict during the Annual Meeting. Beaumont explained that there
are limited time slots during the Annual Meeting and that she had queried roundtable
leaders regarding their preferences within the available slots. She agreed
to work with leaders and staff to identify possible solutions to this problem.
Following
a brief discussion of the status of sections’ and roundtables’ transition
to electronic-only newsletters, Council members agreed to “take the pulse” of
section and roundtable leaders at the Annual Meeting to determine their reactions
to the newly implemented policy.
PRESIDENT’S REPORT
Ericson reported on a wide variety of items:
Archivist of the United States: Ericson reported on a conversation and several email exchanges that he had
had with Archivist of the United States nominee
Allen Weinstein. He noted that Weinstein had expressed his intent to join
SAA.
USA PATRIOT Act Statement: He reported that SAA’s “Statement
on the USA PATRIOT Act” had been updated and posted on the SAA Web
site.
Fundraising Letter: Ericson reported that $2,940 had been
received to date in response to his fundraising letter on behalf of the Pinkett
Minority
Scholarship
Award. Beaumont noted that the figure had increased to $3,270 with checks received
in the office since her departure for Boston.
Diversity Appointments: Ericson
indicated that, in response to Council adoption in June 2004 of a recommendation
by the Diversity Committee calling for reporting
on the diversity of presidential appointments, he had reviewed his own appointments
and determined that 74% of his appointees are women and 39% are members of
ethnic or racial minority groups. Bell-Russel noted that it would be important
to consider the race and ethnicity of the individuals who declined appointment
or were not SAA members and therefore did not qualify for appointment. She
pointed out that some members of the Archivists and Archives of Color Roundtable
are not SAA members.
Ethics Forum: Ericson reminded Council members that an open forum on the revised
Code of Ethics would be held from 4:00 to 5:30 pm on Wednesday, August 4, and
he encouraged all to attend.
Mentoring Program: Ericson reflected briefly on his involvement
with students and young professionals as a mentor, and he encouraged all Council
members
to consider participating in SAA’s Mentoring Program.
VICE PRESIDENT’S
REPORT
Council Focus on Policy and Strategy: Jimerson indicated
that, based on his own experiences as well as the important points that he
and Beaumont
had learned
while attending the American Society of Association Executives Symposium for
Chief Elected Officers and Chief Staff Executives, he would like to focus Council
discussions and efforts on policy and strategy development during his presidential
term. He stressed that he would like to address how to be more productive as
a group and how to streamline and clarify the procedures for reporting groups
to make recommendations or provide information to Council. He will continue
to consider implementation strategies and will provide more specific information
to Council at its winter 2005 meeting.
Appointments: Jimerson noted that the
appointments process is very complex because of the desire to reflect diversity
and coverage of constituent groups.
Waverly Lowell and Alden Monroe had agreed to chair his Appointments Committee,
with Tom Frusciano serving as the third member. He had begun on July 30 to
contact individuals regarding their willingness to serve.
LIAISON REPORTS
Diversity Committee: Wurl reported on the brief meeting held
by the Committee on Wednesday, August 4, from 10:00 to 11:30 am, the focus
of which was to update
members on actions taken since the Committee’s April 2004 meeting.
Ethics
Committee: Sniffin-Marinoff again encouraged Council members to attend the
Ethics Forum on the revised Code of Ethics, in light of the fact that the
Council had asked the Committee on Ethics and Professional Conduct to conduct
an open forum.
- Science, Technology, and Health Care (STHC) Roundtable Issue Regarding
Annual Meeting Program Proposals: Sniffin-Marinoff reported that the Roundtable
had
expressed concern that the procedures associated with the 2004 Program
Committee review of section and roundtable rankings of session proposals
were unclear,
particularly when endorsed sessions were not accepted. Extensive discussion
ensued. Wurl said that the Council should decide whether endorsements matter
or don’t matter and give direction to the Program Committee. Further,
Council should ask sections and roundtables how they feel about endorsements
and how they think the system should work.
Jimerson pointed out that if too
much weight is given to section and roundtable endorsements, SAA runs the risk
of focusing on narrower interests, whereas
the point of the program should be to cross the lines that separate us and
help to broaden people’s perspectives. With 13 sections and 24 roundtables
and just 60-65 sessions, how many sessions does each unit want? Engst noted
that the units have the opportunity to do very specific presentations during
their individual meetings. Jimerson then reported that he had heard complaints
from one or more roundtables that they are given 1.5 hours for their annual
meetings, while sections are given 2 hours. Council members agreed to have
a broader discussion on these and other issues associated with the Annual Meeting
at their winter 2005 meeting.
TREASURER’S REPORT
FY04 Audit: Eaton reported that she had spoken with
the auditors, who had indicated that SAA’s FY2004 audit was considered
to be “very clean.” She
congratulated staff for their efforts.
Year-End Financials: Eaton noted that
she would be giving a brief overview of FY2004 financial data at the upcoming
Annual Business Meeting, and asked
if Council members had any concerns about the financials that had been presented.
No concerns were raised.
Financial Review for July 1, 2003 – June 30,
2004: Eaton asked for any questions or concerns about the written explanations
of variances between budgeted
and actual amounts reflected in the FY2004 financials. No questions or concerns
were raised.
FY05 Budget: Eaton noted that while the financial reports for FY2004
look very positive, the Society must consider options for increasing dues in
the coming
year or two. She asked Council members to provide her with their ideas for
strategies and tactics for taking a reasoned approach to this issue, and asked
that discussion of this issue be placed on the winter 2005 meeting agenda.
STAFF
REPORTS
Council members reviewed staff reports addressing Headquarters Operations,
Education, Publications, and the Annual Meeting.
Boles expressed concern that
postponement of staff performance appraisals, as noted in Beaumont’s
Executive Director’s report, had not been
vetted through the Executive Committee.
Beaumont thanked Council members in
advance for their willingness to visit with a pre-determined list of exhibitors
to thank them for participating in
Boston ’04 and determine their reaction to a new exhibit hall schedule.
Continuing
Education Content Advisory Group
Council members discussed a report
prepared by DeSutter in which she proposed the creation of an “advisory
group” to assist the director of education
with continuing education program development. She noted that while the Committee
on Education and Professional Development (CEPD) is well suited to provide
strategic guidance, its members are not always available to provide content
expertise in areas in which SAA may wish to expand its offerings.
MOVED THAT the SAA Education Office work with an ad hoc advisory group, approached in
consultation with the Executive Committee, to assist the Office in developing
SAA’s seminar and workshop offerings. The group will exist on a one-year
trial basis, at which time the process will be reviewed and modified as necessary.
[Moved by Bell-Russel, seconded by Boles] PASSED.
Support Statement: The Continuing
Education Content Advisory Group will assist staff in developing ideas for
new education programs; creating curricula in
appropriate areas; monitoring the effectiveness of offerings in light of professional
needs and developments; reviewing education programs to ensure high quality
(joint responsibility with the CEPD); and compiling a set of educational opportunities
that rounds out gaps in the existing curriculum. Creation of a short-term solution
will provide flexibility, enable staff and Council to evaluate the effectiveness
of the group, and determine whether a board modeled on the idea of the Editorial
Board might be appropriate in the long term.
SAA’s Information Technology
Infrastructure
Council members discussed a report prepared by Brian Doyle in
which he provided a broad overview of recent information technology enhancements
made at SAA
Headquarters, particularly in relation to recently proposed and/or implemented
electronic publishing and communications projects. As the discussion progressed,
staff emphasized critical technical limitations in the association management
software system that drives SAA’s “master” database, and
the impact of these limitations on the interface between the database and the
Web site and on staff productivity.
MOVED THAT staff develop a draft request
for proposal outlining considerations for replacing the existing association
management software system with another
database system or with an outsourced service, with a report to Council at
its winter 2005 meeting. Staff should consult with the Electronic Publishing
Working Group in developing the RFP. [Moved by Engst, seconded by Bell-Russel]
PASSED.
Support Statement: SAA’s current association management software
(AMS) system, now 6 years old, lacks the flexibility and power needed to take
the
Society to the next step in its growth. With increasing reliance on communication
with members and nonmembers via the Internet and a growing need to segment
audiences, it is critical that the membership database provide a more “nimble” environment
in which to conduct the Society’s business. With a draft RFP in hand,
Council and staff will be able to determine the next steps in updating or replacing
the existing system.
APPOINTED GROUP REPORTS
Electronic Publishing Working Group
Rob Spindler, chair of the Task Force on
Electronic Publishing (2001-2002) and the Electronic Publishing Working Group
that stemmed from the Task Force,
asked Council for time to discuss a series of questions and recommendations
from the Working Group. Spindler participated in the discussion via speaker
phone. Following the discussion, Council members voted on several of the recommendations
put forward by the Working Group.
Recommendation 1: That Council support the
open access model for the American Archivist back-file, specifically a moving
wall model similar to JSTOR in which
the current year’s AA issues are restricted to members only and past
issues are made available to the public at no charge.
MOVE THAT SAA support
the “open access” model for the American
Archivist back-file, restricting the most recent two years of issues to members
and paid subscribers and making past issues available to the public at no charge.
[Moved by Wurl, seconded by Eaton.] PASSED.
Support Statement: The Working Group
had queried Council regarding its support for the open access model for the
journal back-file, specifically a moving
wall similar to JSTOR in which the current year’s journal issues are
restricted to members only and past issues are made available to the public
at no charge. Council determined that it would prefer to restrict access to
members and paid subscribers for two years.
Recommendation 2: That SAA focus
on a longer-term, standards-based solution to the issue of American Archivist retro-conversion of the existing electronic
back-file (i.e., 1999-2003) and seek external (gifted, granted, or appropriated)
funding.
In its discussion of journal retro-conversion, and whether SAA should
look at a lower-cost interim solution (eg, PDF or HTML, which would cost approximately
$3,000 for all content from 2000 to 2004) or a higher-cost, longer-term solution
utilizing available standards such as TEI Lite/XML, Council determined that
the issue should be tabled until such time as contact was made with JSTOR to
determine whether that entity might propose some innovative solutions. Boles
agreed to approach some colleagues regarding how American Archivist might be
retro-converted by JSTOR.
Recommendation 3: That the Electronic Publishing Working
Group continue to work with SAA staff on infrastructure issues and attempt
to secure sufficient
facilities to enable SAA to host its own content.
MOVED THAT the Electronic Publishing Working Group continue to work with and
advise the SAA staff on infrastructure issues. [Moved by Wurl, seconded by
Eaton] PASSED.
Support Statement: Council wishes to retain the expertise
of the Working Group members in providing advice and counsel. On the matter
of
securing sufficient
facilities to enable SAA to host its own content, however, Council asked Wurl
to seek more information at the upcoming Working Group meeting and report back
on his findings. [ACTION]
Recommendation 4: That Pease Award
nominees’ submissions be considered
for Web publication by the Pease Award Subcommittee of the Awards Committee.
Based
on significant discussion regarding issues associated with this recommendation,
Council members did not put this recommendation forward for a vote.
Recommendation
5: That Council review the report of the Task Force on Electronic Publishing
and identify for the Electronic Publishing Working Group those items
that should not be pursued and the priority level of remaining items.
Wurl,
who is Council liaison to the Working Group, agreed to discuss with the group
how its members might participate in the ongoing process of establishing
priorities.
Recommendation 6: That Council consider whether Council liaisons
might assist the Electronic Publishing Working Group in monitoring and facilitating
progress
by various SAA groups toward the goals outlined in the Task Force on Electronic
Publishing report, or whether the Working Group should be disbanded and hand
off initiatives regarding current content to existing SAA groups.
Recommendation
7: That Spindler step down as chair of the Electronic Publishing Working Group
in January 2005 but remain as a member of the group.
Spindler indicated that
he wishes to be relieved of the chairmanship and to open up participation on
the Working Group to new “faces.” In particular,
he believes that while he has focused on the technical aspects of the work,
a new chair who is better acquainted with how to get things done within SAA
would be a great champion for the work.
Council accepted Spindler’s resignation
with regret, asked him to remain on the Working Group, and thanked him for
his remarkable efforts in moving
forward the various items in the Task Force on Electronic Publishing report.
Membership
Committee
Council reviewed the “Key Contact Summary Report and Annual
Membership Trends (2nd Quarter 2004)” prepared by Membership Committee
Chair Scott Schwartz, noting that membership figures continue to improve.
Awards
Committee
The Awards Committee had proposed creation of a new award, tentatively
titled the “Unsung Archivist Award,” to honor the contributions
of individuals or groups of individuals who have displayed outstanding service
to the profession
at the local, regional, or national level. Council members were sufficiently
unclear about the proposed selection criteria and administrative procedures
that they agreed to return the proposal to the Awards Committee for additional
development. Committee Liaison Kathryn Neal will discuss Council’s comments
with the Committee; Pearce-Moses agreed to assist in crafting language for
the award.
OLD BUSINESS
“Gray Literature”
Due to time constraints, Council members agreed to postpone
a discussion of “gray
literature” to the winter 2005 meeting. The issue had been raised in
the context of a question posed by the Electronic Publishing Working Group
regarding whether SAA should publish “gray literature” on its
Web site. Chief among the items for discussion will be: What is the scope
of “gray
literature”? (That is, does it include book reviews, research in progress,
and working papers?) What will it take to maintain “gray literature” on
SAA’s Web site? Whose input (e.g., student, new member) should be sought
in making a decision about the value of “gray literature”?
Section/Roundtable
Fundraising Policy
MOVED THAT the Council Handbook, Section X. Money for Section
Activities, and Section VIII. Money for Roundtable Activities, be revised to
reflect
the following
changes (underscored): 1) annual reports must include not just budget requests,
but also a list of expenditures for the previous year; 2) sections/roundtables
must receive authorization from Council to spend any monies or commit any
monies to be spent over $100; 3) if a section/roundtable wishes to seek resources
over $100 (in cash or in kind) from any source outside of SAA, Executive
Committee
approval must be obtained before approaching the source. Any request to
obtain grant funding, obtain a sponsor for an event, or start extensive fundraising
must be approved by the Executive Committee. [Moved by Eaton, seconded by
Bell-Russel] PASSED. [ACTION: Revise Council Handbook; liaisons to share information.]
MOVED
THAT the changes adopted in Council Handbook, Section X. Money for Section
Activities, and Section VIII. Money for Roundtable Activities be
effective
in the next budget cycle (i.e., FY 2006). [Moved by Sniffin-Marinoff, seconded
by Boles] PASSED.
NEW BUSINESS
Creation of Continuing Education and Graduate Education Committees
Stemming
from previous discussions in February 2004 and June 2004 about the roles of
various appointed groups, Council discussed the merits of changing
the focus of the current Committee on Education and Professional Development
to that of continuing education and creating a new committee to focus on
graduate education. Current members of CEPD have indicated that continuing
education
should be their focus given the constraints of time and a full list of activities.
Jimerson noted that a graduate education committee would likely be less active
except when reviewing graduate education guidelines. Wosh cited the benefit
of having a more focused committee to deal more directly with graduate education.
Jimerson suggested that the idea be discussed with CEPD and the Archival
Educators Roundtable to solicit feedback.
Effort to Change Government’s
Document Classification System
MOVED THAT SAA support efforts by the American
Library Association, the Federation of American Scientists, the National Security
Archive, and OMB Watch to convince
Congress to establish 1) a classification review board with the statutory
power to declassify documents, and 2) a national classification center located
at
the National Archives and Records Administration to monitor agency classification
policy and practices. [Moved by Wosh, seconded by Sniffin-Marinoff] PASSED.
Support
Statement: In a letter to Senators Roberts and Rockefeller on the Senate Intelligence
Committee, the aforementioned groups wrote the following: “We
strongly encourage you to help implement long-overdue reforms that were identified
years ago by the congressionally mandated Commission on Protecting and Reducing
Government Secrecy that was chaired by Senator Patrick Moynihan, with the
participation of Senator Jesse Helms and a bipartisan panel. The Commission’s
unanimous 1997 report comprehensively evaluated the classification system.
In particular,
we recommend that you push to adopt two of the critical and necessary reforms
the Commission identified: 1) Establish a bipartisan national declassification
review board with statutory authority to overrule federal agency classification
decisions. This model was used to declassify millions of documents related
to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and significantly improved
public understanding of that fateful event. In cases in which an agency’s
classification decision is in dispute, the board would hear appeals of classification
decisions by federal agencies and render decisions available to the public.
2) Establish a national classification center located at the National Archives
and Records Administration to coordinate, implement, and oversee the declassification
policies and practices of the federal government. The center should report
to Congress and the president on its activities and on the status of federal
agencies’ declassification practices. By instituting these reforms
Congress will be building on the recommendations of the 9/11 Congressional
Joint Inquiry
by promoting an informed public armed with information to protect our families
and communities from terrorist and other threats to public health and safety.”
Council
Exemplary Service Award
MOVED THAT Archivist of the United States John W.
Carlin be awarded the Council Exemplary Service Award at the Closing Plenary
Session of the 2004 Annual
Meeting:
Whereas John Carlin has served with distinction as Archivist of the
United States since 1995; and
Whereas he has enhanced communication with the
Society of American Archivists, including preparing a regular column for Archival
Outlook; and
Whereas he has fostered a new mission/vision statement that defines
the National Archives and Records Administration as an agency that is essential
in our
democracy for protecting citizens’ rights, holding government officials
accountable, and documenting the national experience; and
Whereas he has set
priorities and new directions for NARA by developing and institutionalizing
a ten-year strategic plan; and
Whereas he has secured record agency budget
increases that have protected ongoing operations and funded new strategic initiatives,
and has championed
increased
funding for the National Historical Publications and Records Commission;
and
Whereas he has promoted access to records by reducing the agency’s
processing backlogs; has raised the public profile of the National Archives;
and has dramatically
increased NARA’s online services via a robust Web site that includes
a catalog of NARA’s nationwide holdings and online access to electronic
records; and
Whereas in partnership with other government entities and the
private sector he is developing solutions for long-term preservation of and
access to electronic
records through the Electronic Records Archives program;
Therefore Be It Resolved
That the Council of the Society of American Archivists recognizes
John Carlin for his exemplary contributions to the archival profession.
[Moved
by Jimerson, seconded by Bell-Russel] PASSED.
Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 5:00 pm.
AUGUST 7, 2004
As is customary, Council members reconvened for a brief meeting
on Saturday, August 7, 2004. President Rand Jimerson called the meeting to
order at 7:00
am. Present: Vice President/President-Elect Richard Pearce-Moses, Treasurer
Fynnette Eaton, and Council members Frank Boles, Mark Duffy, Elaine Engst,
Aimee Felker, Peter Gottlieb, Kathryn Neal, Christopher Ann Paton, Peter
Wosh, and Joel Wurl. Also present were Archivist of the United States John
Carlin
and Executive Director Nancy Beaumont.
Carlin thanked Council members for
the opportunity to address the group and briefly shared his perspective on
the transitions that will be occurring
in the Archivist of the U.S. position.
Council members reported on the meetings
of the groups for which they serve as liaisons. In response to a special request
to “take the pulse” of
section and roundtable leaders to determine their reactions to the newly
implemented policy on electronic-only newsletters, Council members indicated
no discomfort
with the policy.
Following a review and update of the Action Item List, the
meeting was adjourned at 8:00 am.
|
