Ohio
Historical Records Advisory Board
Minutes, 30 October 2003
Ohio Historical Center
Columbus
BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Charlie Arp, Roland Baumann, John Fleming,
Barbara Floyd, Raimund Goerler, Mike Lucas, Julie McMaster, Jim Oda,
Kermit Pike, George Parkinson and Carol Tomer.
BOARD MEMBERS NOT PRESENT: Ronald Koetters
STAFF PRESENT: Katherine Goliver, Bill Laidlaw and Rachel Tooker
George Parkinson called the meeting to order at 10:00 a.m., introducing
Bill Laidlaw, Executive Director, Ohio Historical Society, and in
turn board members introduced themselves.
Dr. Laidlaw congratulated the Board on the successful conference,
The Future of Our Past: Ohio's Historical Records at 200 Years, held
on 26 September at the Ohio Historical Center at Columbus, with over
100 archivists, librarians, curators, records managers and public
officials in attendance. He noted that the evaluations of the event
were positive. He outlined his views on strategic issues facing the
Ohio Historical Society and for establishing strong ties betweens
the Society and the Ohio Historical Records Advisory Board. To that
end he extended an invitation to the records board to make a thirty-minute
presentation (including presentation and general discussion) to the
Ohio Historical Society Board of Trustees outlining how OHRAB's perspectives
and strategic interests, soon to be captured in The Ohio 2010 Plan,
are congruent with those of the Society. He described how he looked
forward to being the coordinator for the records board.
He welcomed the board's involvement in the search for a new state
archivist, noting that Roland Baumann and Mike Lucas have agreed to
serve on the search committee. He encouraged compliance with Governor
Bob Taft's requirement that members of all state boards and commissions
attend training sessions and adopt a model ethics policy.
He invited inquiries on recent newspaper articles, critical of the
Ohio Historical Society, and answered questions asked by board members
as to the factual accuracy and intent of these reports.
George Parkinson also invited board participation in the search for
the new state archivist, Charles Arp having resigned from this position
in September to become records manager for Battelle Memorial Institute.
In addition to two board members serving on the search committee,
Parkinson suggested that other board members attend presentations
of the candidates who were finalists for the position and fill out
evaluation forms, which would be considered by the search committee
as it deliberated. Parkinson said that all board members should be
asked to participate with the exception of Charles Arp, as it might
be, or appear to be inappropriate for him to help select his successor.
After a discussion of the issues involved, Arp declined participation
in the candidate presentations and the board accepted the proposed
role for itself in the search for a new state archivist.
Next, the board welcomed representatives from two Ohio repositories
of historical records that had submitted grant requests to the Commission
against a 1 October deadline and which the board was required to review
by 15 December. In both cases the applicants had not availed themselves
of the opportunity to provide a written outline of the proposed project
at least sixty days in advance of the deadline, as suggested in the
state plan. Kevin Proffit and Ina Remus from the Jacob Rader Marcus
Center of the American Jewish Archives, located in Cincinnati, explained
their proposal, Microfilming the World Jewish Congress Collection,
and answered questions. Warren Brown and Tracy Overmyer, of Sandusky
County, did the same for their proposal, Microfilming some contents
of the Clerk of Courts records in an attic storage area...
After lunch, it was agreed that the model ethics policy, recommended
by Governor Taft, be referred to the membership committee for consideration.
A subcommittee was formed to draft the initial version of the 2010
Plan. The next board meeting was set for 15 January 2004, to be held
at the Ohio Historical Center, with the primary item on the agenda
being The Ohio 2010 Plan. This would allow for a draft of the plan
to be ready for an OHRAB presentation at a 12 March meeting of the
Society's Board of Trustees.
Rai Goerler left the room, recusing himself from a discussion of
The Ohio State University grant proposal, 20th Century Cultural History:
The Caniff, Saalfield, and Wilson Collections. A general discussion
of the three proposals ensued, and a deadline of 1 December was set
for completion of the board reviews.
Goerler rejoined the meeting, and Charles Arp asked George Parkinson
about funding for the Ohio Memory Project, specifically if any grants
had been written and submitted seeking additional funding. He replied
that such grants were being written and that one would be submitted
to the State Library of Ohio under the LSTA Minigrant program. It
was moved by Mike Lucas and seconded by Jim Oda that the minutes of
the 13 June 2003 meeting of the board be approved. The motion passed
unanimously.
The meeting adjourned at 2:10 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
George Parkinson
Acting Coordinator
