PALMCOP BOARD MEETING
13 January 2004
The first 2004 quarterly board meeting of the Palmetto Archives Libraries and
Museums Council on Preservation was held at the South Carolina Department of
Archives and History on Tuesday, 13 January 2004. Chair Harlan Greene called the
meeting to order at 10:30 a.m. Attending were Greene, Nancy Sambets, Sarah
Murray, Nichole Green, Roger Wellington, Grace Cordial, Felicia Yeh, and Alan
Burns. Marie Martin and Tally Johnson had sent word about not being able to make
the meeting and in the secretary's absence, Greene said he would take care of
the minutes.
The next order of business was introductions. For the sake of the three new
board members (Nichole Green, Roger Wellington and Alan Burns) and the returning
members, all introduced themselves, noting briefly their professional positions
and their past tenures with the organization. Greene welcomed everyone and noted
that he did not have a formal report per se; all his work since the last meeting
had been aimed at working for the Annual Meeting.
Treasurer Sarah Murray gave her report next, focusing on the costs and expenses
of the Annual Meeting. (See
attachment.) She noted that at the previous meeting, Chair Greene had said
that it was his philosophy that it was fine to run a deficit on that event,
seeing that it is the one main point of contact PALMCOP has with its members.
She apologized for a net loss of $821.89. In discussing the report, many board
members expressed their opinions that an apology was not necessary. Cost
overruns were necessary -due to the fact that the caterer would not supply food
for less than 50 people, and that less than that number had registered.
Complicating the issue, too, was the high cost for speaker Seth Mason, editor of
the Spanish language newspaper who spoke; not being of the archival community,
Mason could not be expected to donate his services for free. Greene noted that
the amount in the checking account was still satisfactory and Grace Cordial said
that as long as the account stays above $3,000 there should be no great cause
for concern. The board joined in thanking Sarah for her many services to the
organization.
Vice-Chair Grace Cordial gave her summary of the member survey. (Copy
attached.) She noted that there is a definite expressed interest in hands-on
disaster response and that is a need for information on how to deal with moldy
books, family papers, and scrapbooks with there being no clear cut expressed
wish in which format the information should come. There is one host for a
possible upstate workshop, Ms Cordial reported. One survey participant worried
that a joint conference with another archival/library group could create
bookkeeping problems, so all responsibilities should be spelled out first.
This report lead to a discussion of the next item on the agenda: plans for the
upcoming year. Chair Harlan Greene reminded the board of what tentative plans
were mentioned at the annual meeting: PALMCOP has committed to a workshop of
some kind on disaster, one on book repair and tentatively, a joint annual
meeting with the South Carolina Archival Association. Since most survey
participants asked for hands-on disaster repair and since the Spartanburg Co.
Library has offered to host a workshop, Harlan Greene said he would check out
that site for such a workshop. He asked if the board would consider doing this
workshop with SCAA. The Board agreed it was all right to pursue this matter.
Roger Wellington offered his library as a possible site for the book repair
workshop so Greene said he would check on that as well. Alan Burns volunteered
to provide a connection to the Piedmont Library Association.
Nichole Green asked about the possibility of using PALMMCOP officers and members
as consultants - to possibly enrich the organization's bank account. Greene
replied that the possibility and skills exist within the group, but that
scheduling is often the crucial factor. She also asked if the group can do
workshops on care of family papers and similar topics. Again, Greene replied
that it had done this in the past, but that sometimes, with such small turnout,
it is almost not worth the effort; he wondered if it might not be best to do a
workshop on training people how to do such workshops for their own
organizations.
Greene spoke on the need of reaching out to younger professionals to bring them into the field of preservation; every time any workshop of any kind is done, attention must be paid to trying to teach someone new to teach the workshop in the future. This brought up the topic of reaching out to library school and other graduate students. Sarah Murray reported that she will soon meet with the new instructor of the preservation course at USC and will try to begin networking with PALMCOP.
The discussion then moved towards the creation of pamphlets, or three fold handouts on preservation topics. Grace Cordial volunteered to help draft one on mold, and on drying books; Nancy Sambets will do one on photographs; and Sarah Murray will look up the one produced by the Archives on Scrapbooks. As for the annual meeting, Greene reported that he had spoken with Sharon Bennett, chair of the SC Archival Association. The tentative plan to co-host Hilary Kaplan as speaker at the annual meeting to discuss reading and using Preservation catalogs correctly is still on track. Grace Cordial explained how this could work - one annual meeting for one group would be held in the morning, another in the afternoon, with the workshop and lunch in the middle.
There was no old business.
Under new business, Alan Burns noted that the web page needed some updating
and Sarah Murray replied that she had done some of that the same morning. Harlan
Greene passed on the information about the funding of the regrant program by the
State Historical Records Advisory Board. This would be good news to many small
members of PALMCOP and might result in PALMCOP officers and board serving as
consultants.
The meeting date was set for April 20, 2004 at the State Archives
With there being no other business, Harlan Greene thanked all for attending and
adjourned the meeting at approximately 11:45
Respectfully submitted,
Harlan Greene
For Secretary Tally Johnson
Attachment A: Treasurer's Report
PALMCOP Treasurer's Report, January 2004
Beginning Balance, 10/15/03 $7006.36
Annual Meeting expenses ($1819.39)
Annual Meeting revenues $997.50
Membership renewals $40.00
Stamps
($74.00)
Interest earned
$1.47
Ending balance, 1/12/04 $6151.94
Annual Meeting:
Income
Registration Fees
$997.50
Expenses
Supplies (paper, folders, tablecloths, etc.)$102.87
Brochures
213.10
Food
1101.92
Speakers (gifts, fees, mileage)
401.50
Total
(1819.39
Net Loss
( $821.89)
Attachment B: Survey
Dear Fellow Board Members,
I've been working on compiling the data from the 12 surveys I collected during
our
annual conference. {Another one was mailed to me after the conference.}
Summary results:
#1: View of Preservation: 25% of the respondees said that its "nice, but," with
reasons given as the usual stresses: lack of time, money, and co-worker
assistance. 75% said it was important and vital.
#2: Who's responsible at your institution? It's a split down the middle: 6
respondees had one person responsible; 6 respondees said that responsibility was
shared.
#3: Describe the kind of preservation training you need. 8 folks asked for
workshops. 3 folks jumped over this question. 1 person did not feel the need for
any preservation training. You could pick all of them if you wanted.
Basic book repair -1
How to buy archival supplies - 3
Advanced book repair- 1
Care and handling of magnetic media - 3
Writing a disaster plan- 3
How to mylar encapsulate - 2
Care and handling of photos - 3 How to make archival boxes - 2 Care and handling
of books - 3
Other- 1
Other topics advanced: "'alternative' sources of documents, such as real estate
association; cemetery preservation.
#4: Do you want some info brochures on these topics? All 12 respondees wanted
informational brochures for their patrons (with patrons occasionally circled or
underlined.)
How to dual with moldy books - 9
How to dry wet books - 7
How to care for library papers - 10
PALMCOP BOARD MEETING
15 July 2004
The quarterly board meeting of the Palmetto Archives Libraries and Museums
Council on Preservation was called to order by Chair Harlan Greene shortly after
10:30 am on Thursday 15 July in the SC Department of Archives and History Center
in Columbia SC. Attending were Greene, Felicia Yeh, Nancy Sambets, Marie Martin,
Sarah Murray, Grace Cordial, Alan Burns, Roger Wellington and Nichole Green.
Greene said he would take the minutes for the absent Tally Johnson.
The first order of business was approval of the 15 April minutes. Harlan Greene
noted that it was probably necessary for Tally to sign his name over his title
to make them correct. There were no errors or omissions noted.
Greene then reported on his activities. He spoke of the success of the 30 June 2004 Book Repair workshop in Greenville, SC with approximately 20 participants. He also told of the upcoming workshop on disaster preparedness to be held in Columbia SC on August 12th, in collaboration with the public library roundtable of the South Carolina Library Association. He apologized for not doing anything on the intended hands-on disaster recovery workshop planned for the Spartanburg area, but wondered if a more central location and a later date might be better. With discussion, the board decided that it would be more convenient to hold such a workshop in Columbia in Spring 2005; furthermore, the board wondered if it might not do this in conjunction with the South Carolina Archival Association (SCAA) , possibly in conjunction with their Spring meeting. Greene said that he would contact SCAA about this. He finished his report with the recommendation that future workshop announcements and promotional material include information for the registrants to fill in if a receipt is needed - and information on where it should be sent, etc.
Sarah Murray gave the Treasurer's report next. She reported that the book
repair workshop had brought in $640.00 in revenue and after expenses, including
Harlan Greene's travel and accommodations, the net profit was $355.68. She
reported that the organization has a bank balance of $7,500.71. (See
the report below.)
There were no other reports.
In discussion of the annual meeting, Greene recapped for the board the status of
planning. It will be a joint meeting with SCAA on 10 November 2004. He spoke
with Suzanne Singleton of SCAA; she said that SCAA did not want the scheduled
speaker, Hilary Kaplan, to speak all day; other sessions were needed. In
discussing the matter, Greene and Singleton came up with the idea to approach
the staff of Movietone News archives in Columbia to make a presentation about
the collection, its history, and use. They had been contacted and consented,
saying they were willing to do a presentation of any length. Greene then asked
the board if they had a desire for concurrent sessions, and they all roundly
said that it was not necessary - two good lengthy presentations, from Hilary
Kaplan and from Movie Tone News would be fine. To accommodate both business
meetings, the schedule for the day could be something like this: 10 -12 Hilary
Kaplan. 12- 12:15 one business meeting of one group; 12:15-1:00 lunch;
1-1:15-another business meeting; 1.30 -3:00 Movietone news. Greene said he would
communicate the board's wishes about no need for concurrent sessions to SCAA.
In old business, Greene apologized for not getting the excellent text
supplied by Nancy Sambets on photographs into a handout form yet. And Grace
Cordial, reporting on the illness of her husband, said she had not been able to
complete her handout on mold. Greene said he would try to get the photo piece in
shape by the annual meeting and Cordial agreed that a spring date for the mold
handout - to possibly be coupled with the hands-on workshop - would work.
On new business, Greene asked the board what their thoughts were on issuing a
newsletter. After a spirited discussion the board agreed that a brief newsletter
should be issued to cover an announcement of the annual meeting, some news and
nominations for new board members. Since the latter has to be in the hands of
members 30 days in advance, it was decided that the newsletter would be mailed
no laterlhan 8 October. And in connection with the newsletter, Felicia Yeh
reported on an EBSCO query regarding subscription to the newsletter. All decided
that the price would be $20.00 - that of institutional membership.
The next meeting date was chosen for 12 October 2004 at the State Archives.
With no other business, Greene thanked all for attending and concluded the
meeting at approximately 11:20 a.m.
Respectfully submitted
Harlan Greene
For Secretary Tally Johnson
PALMCOP Treasurer's Report,
July 2004
Beginning Balance, 4/13/04 $7103.42
Membership renewals $40.00
Workshop registrations $640.00
Workshop expenses ($284.32)
Interest earned $1.61
Ending balance, 7/13/04 $7500.71
PALMCOP BOARD MEETING
12 October 2004
The quarterly board meeting of the Palmetto Archives Libraries and Museums
Council on Preservation was called to order by Chair Harlan Greene a short time
after 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday 12 October 2004 in the South Carolina Department of
Archives and History Center in Columbia, SC Attending were Greene, Felicia Yeh,
Nancy Sambets, Marie Martin, Grace Cordial, and Sarah Murray who arrived a few
minutes late, due to conflicting schedule. Nichole Green and Tally Johnson had
sent word of their inability to attend. Greene volunteered to take notes for the
absent Johnson.
The first order of business was the approval of the 15 July minutes - which were approved as written.
Harlan Greene then gave the Chair's report. He spoke of the successful
Disaster Preparedness Workshop at Richland County Public Library on August
12,2004 staged in conjunction with the Public Libraries Roundtable of the SC
Library Association. Approximately 50 people attended. He noted that he had been
in contact with the Nominating Committee and that a report had been made to
Sarah Murray to allow for the transrnittal of the information to the members. He
reported, too, on the lack of a newsletter. He suggested that PALMCOP consider a
strategy used by the SC Archival Association in paying someone a reasonable fee
to desk top publish all PALMCOP newsletters and meeting notices. The board
agreed this would be a good idea and Greene volunteered to find the information
and pass onto the board.
Next Greene gave board members a copy of a letter he had written in support of
the State Library's request for SHRAB funds to buy preservation literature. The
endorsement does not call for any funding from PALMCOP, but a commitment from
the organization to appoint someone to serve on a committee to help the State
Library make the appropriate purchases. The board agreed with this endorsement.
Sarah Murray then gave the Treasurer's report. She noted that income from the Disaster Preparedness Workshop was split between the SCLA Public Libraries Roundtable and PALMCOP, netting the organization $474.64, after reimbursing Harlan Greene $56.71 in photocopying fees. With a little more income and expenses, that brought the organization's bank balance to $7923.32. Murray also spoke of sending out the Nominating Committee's report; the board looked the hard copy over and noticed that Greene had neglected to include the nominees for Secretary - Kendra Wilson of the Charleston Library Society. Murray said that she would send out a email to notify the members of the organization of this omission.
There were no other reports.
The next topic of discussion was the annual meeting. Greene informed the board that due to an injury and a car in the shop, he was not able to attend the joint meeting between SCAA and PALMCOP, working on logistics for the meeting. Sarah Murray reported that she and Steve Turtle are doing many of the logistics. She is handling all the registrations for both organizations; profits and expenses will be split. Details — such as which group will have its business meeting first - and what groups might do a poster session—are to be worked out as time allows. Greene explained that it was not possible, due to a scheduling conflict, to get a speaker from Movietone news as discussed at last meeting; but he felt this would be a great topic for future meetings. Greene produced a copy of last year's business meeting agenda and asked for input in arranging one for this year. He said he would make sure their suggestions were incorporated in an agenda which he would send to them for approval and then send to Suzanne Singleton who is creating the packets for the joint annual meeting. He noted too that board members will be called upon to help Secretary Tally Johnson reconstruct 2003's business meeting minutes. He volunteered to come up with short biographies of those nominated and returning to the board and furthermore brought up the topic of Lea Walsh; Ms Walsh, a long time employee of the State Library and a long time friend of PALMCOP died over the summer and Greene felt the organization should somehow note that at the annual meeting. Felicia Yeh was asked to speak with State Library Administration to see to a fitting memorial.
The topic then came up again in Old Business and New Business.
Under the topic of old business, the issue of replacing the data loggers used in
the environmental packet was brought up by Sarah Murray. New software, in
particular, is needed, since there is a problem with the current software. The
prices have come down dramatically, Murray noted: "Hobo" Data loggers cost about
$85.00 and the software and cables about $95.00 - versus the earlier ones
costing about $500.00. The board agreed that money could be spent on this topic.
This bridged into the topic of new business.
Under new business, the board discussed the need to revitalize the environment
monitoring packets. A new idea was discussed that could forward the mission of
PALMCOP, use new technology and help institutions across the state. Perhaps the
organization could purchase six new data loggers and six software packets, and
make them available through the six PALMCOP districts, as suggested by Marie
Martin. The organization could give the materials away to one institution in
each area that would promise to use the software, etc. to help other
institutions in the area. PALMCOP could seek applications from each district,
administered by each district representative. The institution that showed the
greatest need or the greatest ability to foster cooperative use of the data
logger would be awarded the items. The program, Greene suggested, could be used
to honor Lea Walsh. After much discussion, the board agreed that it would like
to eventually pursue the idea of six units placed in six districts; but it might
be best to launch a trial program first. The Board decided to have a program in
place by the annual meeting. Sarah Murray will buy one Hobo and one software
packet; Grace Cordial will bring materials to advertise the program at the
Annual Meeting, in a sort of poster session. Nancy Sambets will provide color
print outs to show how the data logger measures temperature and humidity. Sarah
Murray will try to arrange to have a computer present to show how the data
logger works. Harlan Greene will provide the form for petitioners to fill out.
PALMCOP members will be able to request ownership for free; non-members will be
asked to pay a fee like fifty dollars. There will be a form for the applicant to
fill out - showing need and naming which institutions will participate in the
area in the use of the data logger. If this trial program works out and is
successful, then maybe the fuller program of a data logger in each district can
be pursued.
On another topic of new business, Grace Cordial suggested that PALMCOP may want to work more with its museum members and do joint programs with a group like South Carolina Federation of Museums. Harlan Greene said he would contact Sharon Bennett of that organization about it.
The board thanked Sarah Murray for all the work she is doing for the organization. With there being no need to set the next meeting date, that to be decided by the new board, Harlan Greene thanked all board members for coming and adjourned the meeting at approximately twelve noon.
Respectfully submitted,
Harlan Greene
For Secretary Tally Johnson