Minutes
Ohio Historical Records Advisoy Board Meeting
16 February 2001
Ohio Historical Center
Columbus

Board members present: Roland Baumann, Keith Corman, Barbara Floyd, Raimund Goerler, Ronald Koetters, Julie McMaster, George Parkinson, James Oda & Carol Tomer

Board members not present: Michael Lucas, Gary Ness

Staff present: Charles Arp, Matthew Benz, & Elizabeth Nelson

Guests present: David Larson

 

Deputy State Coordinator George Parkinson called the meeting to order at 10:00 a.m. He then made opening remarks and went over the agenda for the day.

The Board members provided brief institutional and regional updates. Barbara Floyd reported that the University of Toledo has hired a new Dean of the Library. She is also in the process of hiring student workers for the Ward M. Canaday Center. Julie McMaster said that she is preparing for the Centennial of the Toledo Museum of Art, which will be held this coming April, and is still waiting for word on possible expansion plans. Raimund Goerler reported that the Ohio State University has selected an architect to begin planning the Main Library renovation project. Goerler also mentioned that the OSU Archives contributed to the Ohio Memory Project, and he has encouraged other OSU curators to do the same.

Parkinson announced that Charles Arp was named State Archivist on February 3rd. Arp was serving as Assistant State Archivist. He also mentioned the purchase of an extensive collection of documents of the Society of Separatists of Zoar. Arp reported on the recent acquisition of 200 cubic feet of papers from out-going state representatives

Dave Larson, Records Administrator for the State of Ohio, reported on improvements in the State Records Program. In an effort to address concerns about the compliance rate, the Department of Administrative Services (DAS) Director has sent letters to the heads of state agencies asking for their support. Larson mentioned that the on-line scheduling process should be completed and ready for use by the fall of 2001. A new software program -RIMS (Records Information Management)- will be used, and DAS hopes to launch a new training program for the fall. Finally, the department remains committed to the Joint Electronic Records Repository Initiative [JERRI].

Roland Baumann reported on a recent meeting held by staff at Oberlin College, called to study staffing configurations for the Archives, and Baumann feels that the meeting was a positive start to addressing the current staffing situation.

James Oda is working with city public records commissions in the Dayton area in an effort to pool their resources and begin a systematic microfilming of historic records. He is also involved in a project that will bring together smaller historical organization in the region to process their archival collections contents and advertise their availability on the local library web sites.

Ronald Koetters mentioned that the Cincinnati Museum Center recently sent materials for consideration in the Ohio Memory Project. Carol Tomer reported that her colleague at the Clinic, Fred Lautzenheiser has recently stepped down as editor of the SOA Newsletter. Tomer asked the board to adopt a resolution of thanks to Fred for his hard work of many years:

The Ohio Historical Records Advisory Board commends and thanks Fred Lautzenheiser for his years of dedication and service as editor of the Society of Ohio Archivists Newsletter.

It was unanimously approved.

Elizabeth Nelson distributed a list of recent submissions to the Ohio Memory Project and reported that the team is working with Ohio Link on the online scrapbook interface. Among the possible ideas for the interface is My Scrapbook, which will allow the user to "save" items so that they can access them quickly every time that they go to the scrapbook. Nelson reported that another series of workshops are set for the coming spring. Designed to develop interest in Ohio Memory and encourage a wide variety of submissions from local librarians, archivists and curators, the workshops offer four sessions: 1). How to Decide What to Submit, 2). How to Submit Materials, 3). An Overview of the Process, and 4). A Demonstration of the Online Scrapbook. Five workshops are planned for the spring. The locations are Cincinnati, Marietta, Columbus, Kent and Fremont.

Charles Arp brought the board up to date on the JERRI project. Although JERRI was not included in the Governor's budget, it did clear some hurdles over the past few months. Meetings are planned with members of the Ohio Legislature and the project partners remain hopeful.

The Board discussed the difficulties in funding a new project during a time of budget uncertainty in the state government. Arp handed out a JERRI position sheet that is used in meetings with members of the Legislature. Board members commented on its simplicity and effectiveness. A brief discussion on the problems of access and sealed court documents in relation to JERRI ended this segment of the meeting.

The Board turned its attention to the revision of The Ohio 2003 Plan. Floyd, speaking for the Revision Subcommittee , gave a schedule for the retreat. It was agreed that that the retreat should run from late afternoon to noon the next day and be held in Columbus. Candidates for a retreat facilitator and possible guests were discussed. The date was set tentatively for May 10th and 11th . The subcommittee agreed to decide on the final format and distribute it to the Board.

Following lunch, the Board reviewed The Ohio 2003 Plan, which was adopted in March of 1995 and anticipated the Bicentennial of Ohio Statehood. The review revealed that many of the goals and objectives called for in The Ohio 2003 Plan were implemented in part or full, or provided the thrust to initiate a program. A few examples of successful implementation from the plan include JERRI , Fight for the Colors and The Ohio Memory Project , Archives Week , and Access Through Automation . However, the review also highlighted those portions of the plan that were not implemented. The Board discussed reviewing these portions at the retreat as a possible foundation for the plan revisions.

Baumann asked that the minutes reflect the Board's thanks to Tom Neel of the Ohio Genealogical Society in Mansfield for providing the space for the Revision Subcommittee meeting held in January.

The minutes for the 15 December meeting were adopted with changes. Arp then went over the Procedures Governing Records of State Agencies Transferred to the State Archives of Ohio (see attached). The adoption of written rules, it was felt, would facilitate understanding of what the State Archives is about, and review of the rules and of any issues that may arise because of them by OHRAB will strengthen the State Archives program. The Board voted to endorse changes to the procedures as explained by Arp (changes included on attachment).

The meeting was adjourned at 1:05 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

George Parkinson
Deputy State Coordinator