2005 Annual Meeting Minutes
Archives and Libraries Section
AFS 2005 Annual Meeting: Archives and Libraries Section Meeting
The meeting called to order by Michael Taft (section head) at 12:05 p.m . He handed out copies of the meeting agenda to those assembled.
Financial Report
Michael reported on the contents of the report sent to him by Tim Lloyd.
Beginning balance: $4989.28
Revenue (from memberships): $218.31
Expenses: $1268.93 ($1107.93 travel + $161 administrative fees)
Ending balance: $3938.66
The main part of the expenses were to bring Helen Tibbo in as a speaker last year.
The numbers in the report, indicate that the section is considered “doing well.”
Steve Zeitlin and Betsy Peterson gave a presentation on PACT (Preserving America’s Cultural Traditions). The following gives the highlights of their presentation, and the discussion generated by it.
Betsy described the intention of PACT as an effort to bring the private non-granting agencies together. Goals include work to figure out how to develop more consistent relationships among non-profit organizations, as well as potential collaborations and ways to share information about organizations as organizations, as well as problems they face and ways to collaborate more effectively. There are also areas of joint interest on which we can come together.
In the last PACT meeting, the members of the team identified areas of potential future collaboration, and archiving was one.
The Western state folklorists have been doing work in that area, and there is also the work of AFS on the Ethnographic Thesaurus.
PACT is investigating possible funding sources for joint projects.
Steve Zeitlin said there is a feeling at non-profits that they are working on best and worst case scenarios simultaneously.
At the PACT meeting, they discussed Citylore and what they’re doing at the moment, including the web site. They are working with ideas about what will succeed Citylore should it fail to continue; in other words, a successor entity. PACT also wants to make sure that archival collections of non-profits were in good enough condition to be accessioned to the Library of Congress or other repositories. In their work, they are trying to assure continuity: a permanent home for these collections both in actuality and in American life.
The PACT team was thinking that small non-profits could work together in a collaborative project towards a larger vision, making a national case across regions.
There are potential funding sources for such collaborative projects:
NEA (the most likely to fund something like this)
Mellon Foundation
Grammy Foundation
Saving America’s Treasures
NEH
Steve Zeitlin noted that the Vermont Folklife Center has been funded by NEH.
His initial thought about how to get the project going involved having three organizations apply together for an NEA grant.
The PACT team dreamed that the benefit of such a collaborative project would be a grant that 1) would give services of professional archivist, 2) pay about $10,000 of staff time for someone to work on the project, and 3) pay for equipment and maintenance needed for in-house digitization. If three organizations could apply together and successfully get $50,000, that’s the way it would work. And if Mellon awarded the grant it might be more money.
The next step would be to ask archivists at different non-profits how ideas resonates with them.
At this point there was a discussion among those present. Jim Leary from Center for the Study of Upper-Midwestern Cultures (University of Wisconsin-Madison) discussed their efforts to find home for orphan collections, to organize materials online, and to work with their library school to find a regional home. He said there are other models out there involved in similar enterprises, and that CSUC is trying to establish a permanent archivist position and to work with UM’s library school to make sure that young professionals have as part of their education an understanding of archives work
Marsha MacDowell (Michigan State University Museum) noted that her institution has money to put documentation about quilts online, and include materials from across the country, digitizing and making them accessible. The work is being done by a multi-institutional consortium.
Betsy Peterson responded that PACT is interested in access and digitization, plus capacity building; that some non-profits need (or want) to keep their collections in the short run, and are interested in what they need now as well as where collections may go in future.
Kurt Dewhurst from Michigan State�their participants tell them what they need to capacitate these organizations.
Steve Zeitlin said that he is fan of what Tom Davenport at Folkstreams has done there with an IMLS [Institute of Museum and Library Services] grant. He gave some highlights of work Davenport has done with streaming videos online. It seems to him (Zeitlin) that this work indicates what PACT can do across the country.
Richard Kurin (Smithsonian) spoke about Global Sound, noting that its concentration has been international. At present, 40,000 music tracks have been digitized. In the next 18 months the project will begin to think along domestic lines. Over 100 universities already subscribe to Global Sound, and this shows the possibility of generating income from a project. The idea is to get in tune with money-making enterprises like iTunes (from Apple), make it accessible, and generate revenue. Global Sounds’ first new contract is going to a Mexican archives to get their collections online.
Steve Zeitlin pointed out that such projects should be in tune not only with Apple, but with the times, involving what can and can’t use, and this is a matter involving copyright.
Richard Kurin suggested that an organization can get somebody to work with music rights organizations (such as BMI or ASCAP) to secure rights. Global Sound expects in three years to have 600 universities involved in the project.
Deborah Kodish asked if we know what people have [in collections] and what people need [to make them accessible].
Betsy Peterson suggested that people should visit the Western folklorists web site for guidance on these matters.
Steve Green (Western Folklife Center) said that he has been hearing about talk of [digital] delivery of materials and putting them online, but the work begins with knowing what you have. The first step is survey materials. In the west they’ve developed a small task force to get information from organizations. The problem is that information gleaned from these organizations is presented inconsistently. This suggests that to proceed with a proposal you have to quantify materials in order to forecast what is needed. But the first step is to make surveys; it can be three organizations or a larger group.
Steve Zeitlin said that the PACT team can get a survey from the PACT groups, based on what Western folklorists have done.
Steve Green said that we are asking people to reconstruct the history of the activities of their organizations, to define these collections, and to define them as units. Another observation: when you deliver materials on Internet, you provide an item but out of context, whereas archives are concerned with preserving context. A discussion has to involve whether aims of archives are the same as the aims of organizations trying to make these materials accessible. Archivists provide context, and folklorists provides content.
Deborah Kodish suggested that some of this organizing work can be done online.
Andy Kolovos recommended that PACT do a programming survey. The big issue is how institutions conceptualize their records and materials, and how this speaks to how materials are organized. He offered the example of the Vermont Folklife Center, where their work is organized into “projects.” The survey is very rich.
Maggie Kruesi said PACT has to partner with the archivists. One issue is preservation, another is access, and also the issue of the collections of state folklorists.
Betsy Peterson said that PACT is dominated by state folklorists.
Steve Zeitlin stated that there isn’t an effort to isolate collections.
Steve Green pointed out that there is a distinction to be made between non-profits and academic archives, in that the latter has systems in place to manage archives. That’s why their group [Western folklorists] got interested in the work they’re doing now, because some archives didn’t have an infrastructure.
Ellen McHale talked about New York state collections, and about the creation of a document to explain what they need.
Kathy Gordon suggested that people check out what New York is doing with collections. She suggested that PACT could use the online “survey monkey,” and remarked on the speed of getting results. This kind of research is counter-intuitive for archivists, but the system works. The results could be used prior to planning the grant.
Andy Kolovos noted that part of the problem is the different description methods that are used. A successful grant could help to standardize vocabulary.
Steve Zeitlin agreed that PACT needs to do a survey before planning for the grant.
Joey Brackner said that the way things operate speaks to how things will be processed. At his institution, they have decided to create an archive of folk culture for Alabama. Joyce Cauthen is trying to interest other institutions in this archive of folk culture. That’s a different kind of model, interested in basic preservation.
Joyce Cauthen said that they [involved in the above-mentioned project] are looking for someone to do this work. That person will be archivist/curator. The position is funded for two years, and they are hoping to fund it after that two-year period.
Kurt Dewhurst said there is a complexity of organizations in PACT. A lot of what they are talking about is fundamental work, and then there is digitization work. There are two ideas:
1) We could choose to put together a cluster of 4 to 5 lead organizations that
would create a proposal as Phase 1; they would take institutions and do archiving
2) Phase two would take another four institutions to do the same work, then
another four, and so on
One grant won’t solve everything. Some organizations may be easier to use in order to get the work done. There remains the question: how do we create the most competitive proposals?
Steve Zeitlin suggested an informal survey be done, perhaps of all the PACT groups, then figure out how to go ahead with group of organizations, so they don’t languish and don’t do anything, or have a grant that’s too broad.
Deborah Kodish suggested that there needs to be grounds for the selection process. We have to figure out the process for PACT. Also, she said that she argued for a way other people benefit from what lead organizations do, in case they can’t be part of grant.
Steve Zeitlin said that a preliminary survey may allow PACT to group organizations.
Deborah Kodish recommended that PACT make sure that information is shared after the survey, so other people can link to this.
At this time there was a flurry of back-and-forth brainstorming and discussion.
Jerrelyn McGregor said she was struck by the diversity of organizational infrastructure. She urged the idea that a needs assessment can group together organizations by the nature of their infrastructure. She also suggested that there may be the possibility of several grants.
Steve Zeitlin mentioned that the Vermont Folklife Center has a project to mentor other groups.
Jane Beck said a few words on mentoring.
Kathy Gordon discussed working in phases, in a tiered approach on re-grants and on making a case for critical objects. It could be like the model of technical assistant that New York Folklore Society has.
Deborah Kodish said that part of the grant can be on shared knowledge and learning of archivists. There can be gatherings that include the public. Up to this point, the discussion has been on capacity building.
Janet Gilmore told those assembled that tomorrow’s forum, “Your Stuff, Their Stuff: Preparing Public and Private Folklore Collections for Public Access,” will deal with some of these issues, especially on how to start the conversation among archivists.
Michael Taft said that public sector archivists have different uses for materials, using and reusing materials for projects.
Andy Kolovos said that for archives, the definition of “archives” means non-current records. The problem in the public sector is that records are always current.
Steve Zeitlin expressed concern about working too fast or too slow. By spring he hopes to come up with plan of action on what steps to take. He is trying to find a consensus on the way to move ahead.
An unidentified person spoke of an interest in capacity – building. Would the NEA require matching funds?
Steve Zeitlin said that matching funds could come from organizations themselves.
Steve Green observed that it is easier to figure out the first steps than the entire trajectory. It’s helpful to get long-range vision. In the west, the folklorists were a self-selected task force, but now they’re at a stand-still, trying to figure out the next step. Part of the problem is they’re a self-declared consortium. Steve’s concern is with determining who is in charge and how you direct the roles in group. He imagines a national consortium of public archives and public programs coming together to work on these things. The question is how to keep something like this going.
[An unidentified person – the lead agency would have to be identified]
Steve Green said there is a question of how to get to the next level.
Christina Barr said there is a problem with the lack of resources: where to go for funding. Wester Folklife Center has taken the lead on this, and it’s a drain on one agency. It’s something to consider in mapping out that plan.
Steve Zeitlin wants to work with Michael Taft on gathering questions and deciding he next steps. The key thing is that PACT brings people further along.
Steve Green noted that there is uneasiness among the Western folklorists group about putting information on web site, because people will use the documents as guiding tools. After some persuasion, he gave the web addresss where the documents can be found: www.westernfolklife.org/awsf/index2.html
There was discussion among various people about how to enhance further communications on issues discussed here.
Steve Green mentioned the Textile Arts of Laos collection on the web site, that there is an archival finding aid attached to the collection description, which is unique on the site.
Andy Kolovos noted that for many archivists, there is a difference between making materials available and creating curated exhibits.
Marcia Segal said a few words about the amount of time it takes to plan and get a presentation online; in the case of the American Memory online presentations on the Library of Congress web site, it could take as long as a year per presentation.
Michael Taft added that there is expense of digitization to consider.
Andy Kolovos pointed out that the digital transfer of materials for preservation involves issues of storage for these materials.
Marcia Segal mentioned that processing costs money and needs funding, and that processing itself is an important consideration.
Steve Zeitlin said that his plan of action is that he and Betsy Peterson will be in touch with three archivists and work to put out a survey. Following this, they will be in contact with the membership of PACT. They will have a discussion on what is the best way to proceed with given information, towards the goal of securing grants.
At this point, the allotted hour for the PACT presentation had passed, and Michael Taft, as per the agenda he e-mailed to the membership, invited PACT people to continue their discussion in an outer room, so that other agenda items could be addressed in a timely manner.
Brenda McCallum Prize
Andy Kolovos reported on prize committee work. An awardee will be named in the next couple of weeks, after all members of the committee (Andy, Marcia, and Stephanie Smith) have reviewed the nominations.
Michael Taft said that this would be all right, since prizes are no longer announced at the general meeting but will be made through AFS web site.
At this point there was a discussion of who should be chair, who is on committee, etc. Andy Kolovos suggested that Marcia Segal could be the chair for the coming year, and Marcia Segal accepted.
Proposals for a section-sponsored panel
Andy Kolovos suggested a session on developing descriptive standards for collections.
Michael Taft mentioned that he and David Taylor talked about bringing an appraiser to the next AFS meeting who could look at ethnographic collections, as people considered donating materials to repositories. Michael Taft and David Taylor can report back to the membership. There was a discussion among the members of the potential aspects of such a panel. Michael Taft pointed out the importance of guidance on tax laws.
Steve Green noted that appraisers look at the marketplace to determine value, and that there may not be enough of a history to know the market.
Michael Taft felt that such an event could be an inter-educational experience for both the appraiser and the people with collections.
Steve Green said that such a session could provide value to a potential donor, and value to the institution.
Andy Kolovos suggested a workshop on audio recording technology as a preservation technology.
Michael Taft expects an official call for candidates for the Alabama State folklore archivist.
Marcia Segal mentioned the importance of keeping up listserv communications.
There was some related discussion among the members.
1:25 p.m.: Michael Taft adjourned the meeting.
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