Board members present: Gary Ness, George Parkinson, George Bain, Roland Baumann, Alice Cornell, Jonathan Dembo, Barbara Floyd, Michael Lucas, James Oda

Board members not present: Dennis Harrison, Carol Tomer

Staff present: Elizabeth Nelson, Jim Strider

Also present: Anita Weber, Clarence Wunderlin

Coordinator Gary Ness called the meeting to order at 10:10 a.m, welcomed the board, and reviewed the agenda. The board approved a motion to express its appreciation to William J. Cruse, Mayor of Piqua, who proclaimed 21 June 1996 as "Historical Record Preservation Day in Piqua."

Roland Baumann moved to adopt the minutes of the April meeting as amended to designate Barbara Floyd as the chair of the Local Government Records committee. Jonathan Dembo seconded the motion. The motion carried.

Deputy Coordinator George Parkinson reported on the state capital bill recently signed by Governor Voinovich. The Ohio Historical Society's Archives/Library will receive $1.5 million to establish an electronic records program in the State Archives and to support ongoing automation projects to catalog the State Archives and to retrospectively convert the printed materials card catalog to machine readable format. Together with the Cincinnati Historical Society and the Western Reserve Historical Society, the Ohio Historical Society released a request for proposal for an integrated library and information system on 21 June 1996. The three societies intend to select and acquire three separate and independent systems from the same vendor. Capital funding will support the Ohio Historical Society's purchase of the selected hardware and software.

Gary Ness informed the board that the governor has appointed the fifteen members of the Bicentennial Commission's steering committee. Additional commission appointments will be announced in the near future. The governor is also expected to act on the expired board terms soon.

Elizabeth Nelson itemized the board's grant expenditures to date. The board has $7,542 to spend before the end of the grant in November 1996.

Mike Lucas reported on the dedication of the Ohio Public Library Information Network (OPLIN) held in Columbus on 12 June 1996. On display at the ceremony were the Coonskin and Putnam Family Libraries, the first circulating libraries in the Northwest Territory, now maintained by the Ohio Historical Society. At the dedication, Governor Voinovich promised that all libraries in Ohio will be connected to the state's communications backbone by the end of the calendar year. OPLIN's home page can be found at http://www.oplin.lib.oh.us.

The board discussed SchoolNet, developing content for the Internet, teacher training, and the possible expansion of OPLIN to include historical societies and museums.

George Parkinson summarized the goals of the Ohio Historical Society's Ohio Vital Information for Libraries Center project, which will begin on 1 July 1996. The society received $100,000 in LSCA grant funds through the State Library of Ohio and $50,000 from OPLIN to support the project. Public records, fundamental documents of the Northwest Territory and Ohio, society collections and informational resources will be converted to electronic format and made available through OPLIN and the World Wide Web.

Mike Lucas informed the board about the effort to create a Government Information Locator System (GILS) for Ohio for which the State Library and the Ohio Historical Society will share responsibility. Development of the GILS will also result in the formulation of an information policy for the state.

Jim Strider, Chief of the Society Relations Division of the Ohio Historical Society, provided background on historical organizations in Ohio. The board discussed the needs of those organizations that have archives and libraries. George Parkinson updated the board on plans for the national Historical Records Repository Survey (HRRS), the counterpart to the survey of government repositories just completed by the Council of State Historical Records Coordinators. The HRRS effort will gather information that the board can use to identify important collections, assess needs, and determine priorities for action. At the board's August meeting, a draft of the survey instrument should be available for discussion.

Barbara Floyd, chair of the Local Government Records committee, summarized the committee's reaction to the draft proposal for an expanded Local Government Records Program. Staff will consider the committee's suggestions when revising the proposal. The proposal will be put before the Ohio Historical Society's Board of Trustees in July.

Elizabeth Nelson briefly described the board's new World Wide Web home page (http://www.ohiohistory.org/ohrab/../).

Clarence Wunderlin, Associate Professor of History at Kent State University, spoke with the board about the Robert Taft Papers project. Wunderlin will submit a proposal to NHPRC in October 1996 to secure funding for research during the summer of 1997. The board agreed to assist in raising support for the project. Wunderlin will make a draft proposal available to the board by 1 August 1996.

Anita Weber, Archivist for the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, described to the board the Shipman Lantern Slide Digitizing Project. The museum will submit an NHPRC grant application in October 1996. Weber will make a draft proposal available to the board by 1 August 1996.

George Bain moved to express the board's appreciation to President Kenneth A. Yowell and Edison State College for its excellent hospitality and to commend Jim Oda for his efforts to arrange the meeting. Mike Lucas seconded, and the motion carried.

George Bain moved to commend Elizabeth Nelson for her work assisting the board and wish her well as she moves on to graduate school. Barbara Floyd seconded, and the motion carried.

The meeting adjourned at 2:00, and was followed by an open house discussion of issues facing county and local historical societies in the state. Ray Schuck from the Allen County Historical Society, Melinda Gilpin from the Marion County Historical Society, and Sarah Sessions and Katie Blatt from the Montgomery County Historical Society participated in the discussion.

Respectfully submitted,

George Parkinson
Deputy Coordinator