Council Minutes
August
27, 1996
President Brenda
Banks called the meeting to order at 8:15 a.m., Tuesday, August 27, 1996. Present
besides Banks were: Vice President Nicholas Burckel, Treasurer Leon Stout, and
Council members Karen Benedict, Bruce Bruemmer, Susan Davis, Timothy Ericson,
Lori Hefner, Steven Hensen, Thomas Hickerson, Sharon Thibodeau, and Sharron
Uhler. Also present were Vice President-elect William Maher, incoming Council
member Valerie Browne, and Executive Director Susan Fox.
Motion
to Adopt the Agenda
Ericson moved
and Bruemmer seconded the motion to adopt the agenda. PASSED.
Motion
to Approve the Minutes
Davis moved and
Ericson seconded the motion to approve the minutes as amended. PASSED.
Report
of the Executive Committee
Ericson reported
on the executive committee meeting, which reviewed the agenda and discussed
time management for the day's meeting.
Report
of the President
Banks reviewed
the schedule of annual meeting events which would require Council attendance.
Report
of the Vice President
Burckel distributed
a list of appointments and said his September Presidential column in Archival
Outlook would address the newly released NARA strategic plan. He solicited
Council input on topics for future presidential columns.
Report
of the Treasurer
Stout reviewed
the required Financial Accounting Standards Board changes to SAA which will
couple income and expense to programmatic categories in SAA's budgeting procedure.
He briefly reviewed the Treasurer's Report for the Business Meeteing and received
several suggestions for clarification.
Report
of the Executive Director
Fox distributed
a memo from Education Director Joan Sander summarizing three proposals she received
to conduct an SAA educational needs assessment. Fox and Sander recommended Council
retain Harrison Coerver and Associates to conduct the survey. Council engaged
in general discussion of the survey, sample size, and expected outcome.
Ericson moved
and Davis seconded the motion to accept Sander's recommendation of retaining
Harrison Coerver to conduct the survey at a projected fee of $28,100, and to
investigate the possibility of doing so within a statistical sample. PASSED.
Fox reported
that Teresa Brinati was pursuing the possibility of engaging the University
of Chicago in a pro bono marketing survey of the Society's publications program.
Fox said that in recognition of the excellence of her work, Brinati would be
promoted from Managing Editor to Director of Publications effective September
1, 1996.
Fox said as of
August 17th, 973 people had registered for the annual meeting. She expected
over 1,000 registrants by the meeting's conclusion. Fox further reported that
Mills signed an agreement with the Adam's Mark Hotel for the 2000 annual meeting
in Denver.
Fox also noted
that a focus group would be convened at the annual meeting to design the salary
survey instrument, which would be distributed in the fall and the results expected
to be published by February 1997.
Fox reported
on two meetings she planned to attend in September. The MLA/AHA/ARL meeting
on preservation of primary records would take place at the Library of Congress
the second week in September. She would attend and recommend further SAA action,
if necessary. The Library of Congress was also sponsoring a Publishing Archives
Symposium in early October. She said she would report back on both meetings
in January, if not sooner.
Fox introduced
a draft policy addressing SAA support for directories created by Sections and
Roundtables. After general discussion Banks delegated Hefner to redraft the
policy for final consideration at the August 31 meeting.
Fox said she
hoped to have voice mail fully operational in the Chicago office by mid-September.
Fox introduced
an invitation from H-Net administrators to host an SAA list-serv. H-Net lists
are moderated, Fox said, but are open to all who wish to subscribe. After discussing
the merits of the proposal, Banks requested Bruemmer, Hensen, and Maher to report
back on August 31 with implementation strategies.
Fox presented
a draft digital imaging proposal on the table at the Conference on Fair Use
negotiations (CONFU). She requested council review the document and return comments
to her as soon as possible.
Council recessed
at 9:50 a.m. and reconvened at 10:10 a.m.
Council
Committee on Committees
Ericson said
he expected the Committee on Goals and Priorities (CGAP) would recommend the
committee be disbanded. This decision needed some further discussion within
CGAP, but he saw it as a unanimous recommendation which would come to Council
at the August 31 meeting.
Benedict distributed
and discussed a Public Information Committee draft policy on implementing the
PROFNET subscription service. Council responded favorably to the initiative
and recommended that PIC also develop a tipsheet with guidelines on how best
to respond to media inquiries.
Benedict then
distributed draft procedures developed by the Committee on Ethics and Professional
Conduct for SAA response to ethical complaints. Hickerson recommended making
the Committee the investigative body and cautioned that SAA should be prepared
to devote resources to support on-site inquiries into complaints.
Davis discussed
the Task Force on Organizational Effectiveness (TFOE) plans for the Open Forum.
Council engaged in a broad discussion of issues and the timetable for organizational
changes. Hickerson expressed concern that the current TFOE profile of Sections
and Roundtables did not address issues raised in the Task Force on Sections
and Roundtables report. He said it was extremely important the Society move
forward especially with those two entities. Banks encouraged Council to make
full use of both official and unofficial leadership when instituting change.
Ericson distributed
and discussed a memo he drafted to official representatives clarifying roles
and responsibilities.
Bruemmer introduced
a memo from the chair of the joint SAA/ARMA Committee which contained a series
of recommendations for strengthening ties between the two organizations.
Bruemmer introduced
and reviewed the American Archivist Task Force report. The report recommended
SAA reduce the frequency of the journal to two issues a year, further develop
the web page, enhance Archival Outlook, and eventually hire an additional
FTE in the publications department to assist in enhancing communications. Council
expressed high admiration for the quality of the report and commended Helen
Tibbo and the task force members for their work on a difficult problem.
Council engaged
in discussion of the report, requesting that Fox and Brinati report back in
January with a more detailed financial analysis of the long range impact of
implementing the recommendations and with a specific plan for changes to Archival
Outlook.
Burckel briefly
reported on the proposal for an SAA-ALA joint lobbying alliance. With the sudden
resignation of ALA's executive director, he said the alliance might better be
achieved via elected leadership rather than through the executive director.
He said the main goal was to have an opportunity to influence ALA legislative
positions in areas of mutual concern and to provide support when appropriate.
He would continue to pursue the proposal.
Council
Reorganization Reports
Bruemmer distributed
a list of new Council member frequently asked questions (FAQs). He requested
members review and provide feedback by mid-September.
Thibodeau discussed
her matrix of SAA units parsed by function. Copies will be distributed for further
discussion prior to the August 31 meeting.
Burckel directed
discussion and feedback from Council members polling their liaisons on how Council
could better serve unit needs. He urged Council not to just solicit agenda items
from liaisons two weeks prior to a meeting, but to develop a new relationship
to ensure that Council is considering their ideas and distributing timely information
back to the units.
Hefner expressed
her strong support for the effort and emphasized her belief in the need for
customer feedback. She said she would like this initiative to be an ongoing
assignment.
Council strongly
encouraged Fox to institutionalize posting the "What Council Did"
column immediately on the web site. Fox said she would also develop a longer
reporting piece on council meetings and actions for Archival Outlook
and investigate the use of broadcast fax to send out meeting synopses.
Council also
strongly recommended reinstituting the annual leadership meetings especially
among Section and Roundtable chairs, but including Committee chairs as well.
These meetings should be scheduled at a convenient time, perhaps as informal
luncheons in order to give leaders the opportunity to meet, give presentations,
and discuss issues.
Banks reported
she conducted an informal poll of allied associations to determine whether or
not they had developed a board code of conduct. She was unable to locate any
examples and asked for Council assistance in researching the matter.
Hefner introduced
a draft resolution on SAA use of litigation as a policy tool. After general
discussion, she agreed to redraft the resolution and reintroduce it at the August
31 meeting.
Old Business
Bruemmer distributed
a draft copy of a letter from Anne Van Camp to the Moynihan Commission on Protecting
and Reducing Government Secrecy.
Hickerson said
he was working with Paul Conway and Anne Kenney on developing an SAA position
statement on the Role of Digital Imaging in institutions. He said he would have
a draft for Council review in September with a final version for approval at
the January meeting.
Stout read the
To Do list.
Burckel presented
Banks with a series of humorous gifts and spoke eloquently and warmly about
the quality and effectiveness of Banks' leadership. He said she set a very high
standard which he would try to achieve, not without a little trepidation. Council
applauded Banks.
Davis moved and
Burckel seconded the motion the meeting adjourn at 4:20 p.m. PASSED.
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