The Board then met as Sub-committees to discuss various issues. At 11:45 members reconvened and accepted the following reports:

· Membership Sub-Committee: Keith Corman, John Fleming, Raimund Goerler, Jim Oda, Gary Ness, and Carol Tomer

The Membership Sub-committee reported on its discussion on a "Records Congress" which would be used to solicit opinions on the Board's plans and activities. Topics considered were the Congress's goals, its duration, and which groups the Congress would represent. Emphasis was placed on the fact that the Congress would be a meeting, not an institution. Barbara Floyd, of the Grants Sub-committee reported that the "Congress" was an idea also being pursued by that Sub-committee. The Membership Sub-committee recommended that they and the Grants Sub-committee discuss the "Congress" idea via the list so that a unified plan concerning the "Congress" could be presented to the Board at the June meeting.

The Sub-committee also discussed "mentoring program" for new board members, a Board member application process, possible term limits , and the creation of a procedures manual that would cover such topics. Dr. Ness charged the Membership Subcommittee with the creation of said manual. No objections were noted.

· Grants Sub-Committee: Barbara Floyd, Ronald Koetters, Julie McMaster, and George Parkinson.

Its charge is to do all that is necessary to encourage the submission of competitive grants from Ohio to NHPRC.

The Grants Subcommittee reported on its discussion of the participation of Board members when their home institution is submitting a grant proposal. Jim Oda moved that a member's involvement be stated when a grant proposal is first presented. Keith Corman seconded. John Fleming asked that any involvement as a consultant also be acknowledged. The Board approved the motion.

George Parkinson then reported on the Board member's divided evaluations of the Utley Grant Proposal. Since six members voted to fund the proposal, it was recommended for funding. Dr. Parkinson also informed the Board that the national peer reviews were positive. George then informed the Board that the Grants Sub-committee also discussed the public opening of Ohio Memory. OHRAB members have been invited to the event. Mrs. Hope Taft will be the host.

· Public Records Program Sub-Committee: Charlie Arp, Roland Baumann, David Larson, Mike Lucas, and Kermit Pike.

The committee reported its endorsement of a network meeting based upon the data collected via survey and network visits.

In considering the Board minutes of the October 12th meeting, George Parkinson recommended that "It is in writing that OHRAB is to advise the Board of Trustees in procedures of records," to be changed to, "It was concluded that OHRAB should advise the Board of Trustees of the rules and procedures in writing." The Board approved the change and the revised minutes.

Katherine Goliver reported that the current grant for board administrative expenses expires on 30 November. At the current rate of expenditure there would be a balance left of approximately $4,900 that if not used would be returned to the commission. Dr. Ness charged each member of the Board to contemplate ways to use the unencumbered funding by the next Board meeting.

Charles Arp described a request made by the Society of Ohio Archivists for funding a digitization workshop at the upcoming spring meeting. Discussion ensued with respect to the audience for the workshop and the NHPRC guidelines. It was concluded that the workshop would help implement the Ohio 2003 Plan. Jim Oda moved that the Board approve up to $900.00 in funding with the stipulation that OHRAB be named as a co-sponsor in all publications. Motion was seconded by John Fleming. The Board unanimously voted to approve the motion.

George Parkinson reviewed the testimony that he and Charles Arp gave to the House Select Committee convened to study the effectiveness of Ohio's historical programs and partnerships. The three recommendations to the Select Committee were recognition in the code of OHRAB, a well funded budget line for the public records program, and unification of the State Archives and Records Management program as called for in The Ohio 2003 Plan/A Statement of Priorities and Preferred Approaches for Historical Records Programs in Ohio. Gary Ness described the fiscal flexibility of not having a dedicated line item and the advantages of a single point of access to historical records both public and private. Parkinson and Arp noted that the Select Committee had requested more information on the joining of State Archives and State Records Management. A report was submitted to the Select Committee providing options and recommending that more research be completed before a final decision is made. Ness underscored the fact that due to its meeting schedule the Ohio Historical Society Board of Trustees has yet to address this matter.

Brad Long reported that it became apparent to the Select Committee that the Ohio Historical Society does a professional good job despite an inadequate level of funding. Charles Arp informed the committee that member's photographs for the web site will be taken at the next meeting.

The meeting was adjourned at 2:00 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

George Parkinson
Deputy Coordinator