Council Minutes
August
31, 1996.
President Nicholas Burckel convened the meeting at 3:32 p.m. on August 31,
1996. Present besides Burckel was Vice President William Maher, Treasurer Leon
Stout, Council Members Valerie Browne, Bruce Bruemmer, Susan Davis, Anne Gilliland-
Swetland, Lori Hefner, Steven Hensen, Peter Hirtle, and Sharron Uhler. Also,
present were Executive Director Susan Fox, Helen Tibbo and Waverly Lowell.
Hirtle offered regrets that he would have to depart at 4:00 p.m. due to prior
commitments, and Sharon Thibodeau was absent to attend the International Congress
on Archives in Beijing.
Adoption of the Agenda
Hensen moved and Davis seconded the motion to adopt the agenda. PASSED.
Council Committee on Committees
Lowell reported on the Committee on Goals and Priorities recommendation to
end operations. Lowell said the committee believed that the ongoing planning
function for the Society should reside with Council and that in recent years
Council had begun to integrate the planning process into the Society's governance.
She said that CGAP recommended that Council establish a task force on planning
when the strategic plan required modification.
Bruemmer moved to accept CGAP's recommendation and communicated Council's
appreciation of the work of the committee. Stout seconded the motion. PASSED.
Tibbo presented a report from the Task Force on the Future of the American
Archivist. She relayed comments received from a survey to SAA membership,
the discussion among task force members, and comments conveyed in the open
forum held at the annual meeting.
Council engaged in a general discussion of the task force recommendations
to reduce the frequency of publication for The American Archivist from
four to two issues per year, to enhance the content and look of Archival
Outlook, and to invest resources into hiring an additional individual
to help substantially increase publishing activities via the Web. The sense
of Council was to gather further documentation on the feasibility of hiring
an additional staff member and institute the other recommended enhancements
to the publications program.
Davis therefore moved that the American Archivist be reduced from
four to two issues per year with the understanding that issues of concern raised
in the open forum and elsewhere would be fully addressed by the winter Council
meeting. Browne seconded the motion. PASSED, with Maher opposed.
Tibbo will submit a final report to Burckel in the fall and Fox agreed to
investigate how quickly the change in frequency could be implemented. Fox said
she would give a report to Council by the winter meeting.
Burckel praised Tibbo and the task force for the quality of the work presented
and for their fine efforts in helping to move the process along.
President's Report
Burckel noted that SAA will issue an annual giving letter in the fall. In
light of recent efforts to further the work of the education office, he suggested
that the focus of the letter be toward the Education Fund. There was no objection.
Burckel said he shared the draft letter to the Moynihan Commission on Protecting
and Reducing Secrecy in Government with U.S. Archivist John Carlin, who had
no objections. He added that William Joyce showed some concern over language
referring to bulk declassification and that he would contact Anne Van Camp,
after which he would redraft and send the letter.
Report of the Vice President
Maher reported on the status of appointments to date: Elizabeth Adkins and
Rand Jimerson as co-chairs of the 1997 Program Committee; Fynette Eaton as
chair of the Appointments Committee, with Michael Mooseberger, Kathleen Roe,
Robert Sink, Richard Szary and Elizabeth Wittman as members.
Report of the Treasurer
Stout said he had no report. Burckel complimented Stout on his clear and concise
presentation at the business meeting of a complicated auditing issue.
Council then elected Susan Davis to serve as its representative on the Executive
Committee.
Report of the Executive Director
Fox said she had no report.
Report of Council Committee on Committees
Hensen presented a revised charge for the Committee on Archival Information
Exchange, which Council discussed and tabled until the Task Force on Organizational
Effectiveness completes its report and recommendations.
Hensen presented a proposal from the Committee on Education and Professional
Development for an education summit to be held in conjunction with the 1997
annual meeting.
Hensen moved that by October 1 Fox gather more information to share with Council
and give a recommendation regarding the plausibility of holding a summit. Uhler
seconded the motion. PASSED.
Hensen communicated the names of new council liaisons to committees and said
that the Archival Educators Roundtable changed its name to the Archival Education
Roundtable.
Council Committee on Task Forces, Boards, and Representatives
Davis reported on the Open Forum held by the Task Force on Organizational
Effectiveness. She said the task force was developing further specificity in
its recommendations for the final report, which would include a time line for
implementation.
Council engaged in a discussion on the issue of SAA providing financial support
for directories. Fox recommended that SAA not do so because of limited financial
resources. She said certain groups, such as the Archivists and Archives of
Color Roundtable successfully produced directories through in kind support
provided by sympathetic institutions.
Hefner moved the following Directories Policy:
Whereas the Society of American Archivists Council wants to encourage sections'
and roundtables' timely communications within their respective units,
Whereas a growing number of sections and roundtables want to survey, develop
and distribute directories,
Whereas the financial consideration for section and roundtable directories
is becoming sizeable,
Whereas SAA Council seeks to use SAA financial resources wisely,
Be it resolved that SAA Council requires sections and roundtables to provide
in kind support for all costs associated with directories.
Maher seconded the motion. PASSED.
Hefner moved the following resolution:
Whereas the Society of American Archivists (SAA) desires to become more proactive
in the public policy arena and
Whereas SAA desires to be placed on record in certain key issues and
Whereas SAA has agreed in its Planning for the Profession: A Report of
the SAA Task Force on Goals and Priorities that the profession should "cooperate
with allied professions to share ideas and resources" and
Whereas legal action is one strategy used by our allied professions in promoting
the identification, preservation, and use of records of enduring value
Therefore be it resolved that SAA will consider and employ the use of legal
action as a means to advance its public policy objectives.
Maher seconded. Discussion revealed the sense of Council that the use of the
word "consider" included the assessing financial and human resource
impact of such a policy. PASSED.
Bruemmer reported on discussions regarding SAA establishing a list-serv at
the invitation of H-NET. He said it was the sense of his subcommittee that
it would be necessary to become more familiar with H-NET's operations before
making a final commitment. He also said that it would be important to consider
who would be monitor of the list (as opposed to the moderator). SAA would need
to be clear on what the Society hoped to accomplish by establishing such a
list.
Maher moved that Fox investigate a series of questions related to the establishment
of an SAA list-serv via H-NET and if all questions can be resolved to the satisfaction
of the Executive Committee, Council would recommend that implementation occur
without further review by Council. Davis seconded. PASSED.
Bruemmer moved the following resolution:
Whereas the University of Texas at Austin Graduate School of Library and Information
Science and its SAA student chapter designed and developed SAA's first World
Wide Web site in 1995, and
Whereas their work has aided communication between the Society and its members
through this important tool, and
Whereas their work formed the basis on which the Society's web resource will
evolve
Be it resolved that SAA conveys its gratitude and appreciation to the University
of Texas at Austin Graduate School of Library and Information Science and to
the students who made the first web site possible.
Stout seconded the motion. PASSED.
Stout reviewed the To Do list.
At 5:15 p.m. Davis moved the meeting adjourn. Browne seconded. PASSED.
|
